


Deep-Six

by MalevolentReverie



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-12-11
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:14:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalevolentReverie/pseuds/MalevolentReverie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>College is a time for experimentation and getting mixed up with guys who might not be good for you. I was only supposed to teach him algebra.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How To Meet People

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! This is a pretty fluffy piece I recently started. I write a lot of darker stories so I wanted to take a step back and have a bit of fun with something that isn't terribly serious. There IS a plot; a rather convoluted one, but it's going to be a while before I invest myself in the darker parts.

From the moment I was born, I was destined for greatness.

Or so my parents told me. I grew up in a big city near the coast where it was easy for a little girl to feel insignificant in the big picture of things. We’d all walk down the street together and I would marvel at the different sights and sounds, eyes widening when a car zoomed past or a street vendor offered us grease-soaked hot dogs. I was a reserved kid and took to hiding behind my dad’s leg.

They sent my brother and I to a big private school where Owen bloomed but I grew worse and worse, recoiling into my bedroom at night to hide from the jeering and loneliness. That was about the time my parents realized I needed a purpose in my life, and soon I was sitting at the table listening to them tell me how special and unique I was. It made me feel better, even if it was a lie.

We decided I would become a pharmacist when I graduated to high school. They sheltered me, pouring their energy into placing me in an important college while Owen began to feel the effects of their negligence. That was when it was decided the Hayworth siblings would be attending the same high-admissions college in the boonies, the only place my older brother could get accepted.

I screamed and threw a fit like never before when my parents tried to tell me. It wasn’t fair—my brother had everything at his feet and threw it away to act like a jackass, which in turn dragged me down. But mom was particularly insistent and told me she hoped I could get him to straighten out his act and go down the right path; like my hard work would inspire him. Owen wasn’t destined for greatness. Owen was destined for a career in fast food.

One month after my 18th birthday, I found myself sitting alone in a dorm room.

People were laughing and playing loud music and none of my friends from back home were sympathetic to my plight. I wasn’t a complete loner and had tried to meet new people as I got older, attempting to network my way to a job in a pharmacy. Thankfully there was one just down the street from West University in the sprawling West City nestled at the foot of Mt. Paozu. It was a weird place that felt both urban and entirely rural at the same time.

I turned over on my orange bed sheets and groaned into the pillow. Owen Hayworth, why are you such an insufferable brat?! I could’ve gone anywhere I wanted like mom and dad said but instead I had to babysit my older brother while he presumably got drunk and hit on loose college girls.

There was a knock on my door and I unwillingly slid out of bed to answer it, admiring my decorative touch along the way. I’d gotten all sorts of colors in my small room but my favorite was orange. It was kind of an eyesore. 

Owen was slumped against my doorframe, blue eyes drooping from either alcohol or drugs. I glared frigidly at him and a goofy smirk crossed his face as he reached up to comb back his blonde hair. He was the pretty one in the family—tall and lean like an athlete but too lazy to become one—and he had mom’s gentle disposition that I lacked.

My brother put his hand on top of my freshly brushed brown hair to push me aside and peer around my room curiously. “Hey, Ellie. Whatcha doin’ in here all by yourself?”

“That’s Amelia to you,” I snapped, slapping his hand away. “I don’t want to hang out with them when they’re all rowdy so I’m talking to Mila and Anna about how bogus it is that mom and dad made me come here. Maybe I’ll socialize tomorrow when there are less drugs floating around.”

“Aww, Amelia, you gotta come meet my friends. I told them my favorite little sister was comin’.”

“Only little sister.” I folded my arms and glared up at Owen, agitated. “Wait until I tell mom and dad their 20 year old son is getting wasted in the hallways.”

He blinked, frowning. “Wah? Me? I ain’t drunk. C’mon, Ellie, let’s go meet people.”

Before I could protest any more I was dragged into the crowded wing of Northwest 1, where a bunch of other science majors were casually drinking in the hallways. I gawked openly as my brother pulled me along, shocked that WU wasn’t the dry campus it had promised in the advertisements. My baggy sweater and leggings suddenly felt inappropriate amongst the well-dressed city kids.

“They’re drinking in the halls!” I whispered to Owen, aghast.

“Huh? Well, yeah, you’ve got a cool resident assistant on this floor.” He stopped before a cooler and pushed a bottle of Heineken in my hands, winking. “I’m not gonna tell if you aren’t.”

I turned red with anger. “Owen Taylor Hayworth, if you don’t stop this instant—”

“C’mon, if you’re gonna make me smart then I’m gonna make you popular.”

We pushed through the crowded hallway into the common room for my entire floor, where even more young people were laughing and mingling under the influence. It was a foreign place for me. I clutched my arms awkwardly while Owen introduced me to people who were in various states of inebriation, from a bit of extra color to being full-blown hammered and unable to hold themselves up right. A few of the guys were too loud for my liking but none of them were grabby.

After a while I managed to slip away from my brother and sat on a couch to nurse my beer. It wasn’t half bad and mom and dad would never find out. I clutched the neck with my blue fingernails and watched the party before me, trying to convince myself it was okay to get wasted on a school night.

College was a completely different animal. I curled my legs underneath myself and wondered if my parents had insisted I go with Owen because they were afraid I wouldn’t adapt. It made sense because I certainly felt uncomfortable watching everyone casually interacting and probably would’ve hidden for much longer if I hadn’t been forced out. 

A girl collapsed beside me, soaked in sweat and holding a red cup. She had blue hair that came as a shock to me and azure eyes that gave her an alien beauty. She tipped the cup to her lips and ran a hand through her hair like she was exhausted before noticing me staring. She was drop-dead gorgeous.

I quickly looked away but the stranger laughed and patted my arm.

“You’re Owen’s little sister, right?” she yelled over the din.

Tight-lipped with embarrassment, I could only nod. Now they would all think I was some kind of freak who would never fit in. Good going, Amelia.

The girl pointed to her voluptuous chest. “My name’s Bulma! I’m a senior here and I’m pretty good friends with your brother. You look kind of uncomfortable, though!”

“I’m not used to this kind of thing,” I explained in a loud tone, gesturing at the dancing. 

“Oh, I get it! He told all of us you want to be a pharmacist?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan, if it all works out right. What are you majoring in?”

“Engineering,” Bulma replied, nodding her head to the music. “My dad owns Capsule Corporation and I’m gonna inherit the company someday, so he insisted I come here to make  
it look good on paper.” She grinned at me and winked. “If it all works out right, that is.”

I was beginning to like Bulma. She had an intelligent air about her for some reason.

So I grinned back and took a casual gulp from my Heineken, struggling not to grimace at the taste. “I’ve never heard of that company before. Do you guys only work out of West City?”

The music suddenly changed to an even louder song and Bulma raised her hands in the air to cheer with the others, sloshing a clear alcohol over the side of her cup. She was wearing a skirt and halter top that looked awfully expensive but accentuated the curve of her stomach. I turned back to my drink and she collapsed again on the couch, rubbing her face.

“Yeah, we only sell in the area,” she finally said. “It’s technology the rest of the world isn’t really ready for yet. I like you, Ellie. Your brother said you were cool but he was so drunk I didn’t know if I could believe him. It’s good to see another brainiac going to this stupid school.”

Owen appeared to my left and slumped over the arm of the couch, nearly on top of me. He groaned. “Lee-lee, big brother feels sick. Tell mom I need chicken soup, pronto.”

“You idiot!” I seethed. “I told you to cut it out!”

Bulma burst out laughing. “I’ve never seen anyone talk to you like that, Owen!”

He peered up at her with heavy eyes. “Ellie is a real pain in the ass.”

When I rolled my eyes at my brother and started rubbing his head, I couldn’t help but notice Bulma was staring at me with renewed curiosity. She was drinking idly from her cup with her blue eyes narrowed slightly like she was considering something important. I tried to be nonchalant under her intense gaze.

Soon I found myself hobbling Owen back down the hall to his side of the floor, South 1, where he would presumably vomit in the bathrooms for the rest of the night. Bulma was supporting his other side and people were laughing while we walked past while my brother quietly groaned and staggered along. Yes, college was most definitely different from high school.

I produced Owen’s room key from his pocket and lugged him inside to toss him on the bed, scowling at the mess scattered around his floor. Bulma patted him sardonically on the cheek and we left him to his drunken stupor, making sure the door was locked behind us when we left. The party was still going strong and showing no signs of stopping but I was ready for bed.

To my surprise, Bulma escorted me back to my room and helped me avoid the really drunk people along the way. She was really friendly—I hadn’t expected that at all when I set foot in the WU dorms. 

“You’re gonna tutor, right?” she asked as I unlocked my door.

“Uh, yeah, I’ve gotta do it for my community service.” I smirked at her and she leaned on the wall. “Why, do you need some math help?”

She snickered. “No, not me, but you’ll probably meet one of my friends. Sweet guy. I think he’d like you, and that’s saying something.” She drank more from her red cup. “You’ll fit in pretty well here, Ellie. Stop by my dorm tomorrow and let me know how things went—I live on the top floor, 303 West 2. Maybe we can celebrate your first day a bit better than this.”

Before I could ask anything about her mysterious friend, Bulma vanished.

I locked my door behind me and poured the remaining beer down my little sink, promptly hiding the can in the top shelf of my closet to obscure the evidence. My thoughts were a bit fuzzy and I hardly managed to change into my pajamas before I passed out in bed, exhilarated with the night’s events.

It was the beginning of my climb up the roller coaster.


	2. How To Make Friends

The first morning of classes was a flurry of activity I hadn’t really prepared myself for. I ran around my small room, turning on the hair straightener and struggling into my jeans and sweater for the cool September day. My mouth still tasted like the Heineken from the night before and I hurriedly brushed my teeth while the straightener slowly rose to 300 degrees. I was a mess.

My mother called me while I was stumbling around on the slippery floor and I didn’t bother to answer her. She only wanted to see how my first night went and know if I had stalked Owen like she requested. I pinned my back my bangs and quickly ran the flat iron along my short hair, aiming to tame it rather than go out looking like a runway model. I had three classes that Monday—chemistry, biology, and calculus. Being pretty was not important when I would be slumped across my desk.

Then I was out the door with my pink bag slung across my shoulders, at least ready for calculus and chemistry. Biology was later on in the afternoon and around five I had to meet with the other tutors in the library to get my assigned student for the year. My first day was anything but boring.

Mila and Anna had each left me texts about how their first day at our community college back home was going. I answered them in a hurry as I walked through the crowded halls to the stairs and headed into the chilly morning, shivering in my sweater. Living down South made the North’s weather tough to tolerate—I was used to sunlight and warmth all year long.

Calculus took place in a normal classroom that looked a lot like the ones from high school. I slid into a seat in the back of the room and exhaled with relief, pulling out my notebook and textbook while other people began flooding inside. A lot of them looked older than me and they were talking and laughing. Were all college students morning people? I assumed they slept a lot.

A girl sat beside me and flipped her long black hair over her shoulder, catching the eye of several guys throughout the room. She wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous like Bulma but still very pretty and apparently, very aware of that fact. I blinked at her stupidly a few times before turning back to my notebook.

“Are you Owen’s little sister?” she asked.

I turned to see her dark eyes focusing on me. She was smiling slightly.

“Uh, yeah,” I said. “I’m Ellie. Nice to meet you.”

“My name is Chi-Chi,” she replied, offering me her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Bulma texted me last night going on and on about how nice you were.”

A guy with black hair and a goofy expression sat in front of Chi-Chi and winked. He was tall and built like some kind of pro-wrestler, with weathered tan skin and a strange scar. I blanched.

“What’s up, Chi?” he said. “Heard you stayed in last night instead of partying.”

My new friend regarded him irately. “Yamcha, this is Ellie, Owen’s younger sister. Ellie, this is Yamcha, captain of the baseball team and resident dweeb. Don’t pay too much attention to him; he’s graduating this year so he’ll be out of our hair soon enough.”

“It’s my third time in calculus!” Yamcha chirped.

Another newcomer named Tien sat in front of me and greeted Yamcha and Chi-Chi politely. He had a bandana wrapped around his forehead—I wondered if he was hiding some kind of tattoo. He shook my hand before turning back to the front as the professor strode in looking very agitated.

It was surreal being surrounded by so many friendly people. I could hardly pay attention to the formulas on the chalkboard in my strange, mystified excitement. Did they like me? Was Owen actually opening a door for me instead of it happening the other way around?

Chi-Chi tapped Yamcha on the shoulder when class was finished. “Is Goku coming to the movies with everyone tonight? Krillin is bringing that weird blonde girl and Bulma’s too busy with her new boytoy to keep me company.”

“Nah, Goku’s gotta get tutored tonight,” Tien said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “He’s about to get booted off Roshi’s martial arts team and that’s the last thing we need. Don’t try to sway him.”

What a bunch of strange names. West City was turning out to be a very unique place. I slowly packed my things into my bag, straining to listen in on their conversation.

Yamcha made a repulsed face. “Don’t even bring Vegeta up, please. He’s such an asshole—and I bet he’s in that crazy gang that’s been stirring trouble around the city. What were they? The Saiyans?”

“Probably,” Tien said, “but it’s none of our business. C’mon, we’ve got training to do.” He pulled Yamcha from his chair and smiled at me again. “It was nice meeting you, Ellie. Hopefully we’ll see you around somewhere.”

The two of them left and Chi-Chi turned to me instead, frowning.

“Do you like martial arts?” she asked.

“Uh… not really. I’m more of a science and math person.”

“Oh, so you’re like Bulma.” This seemed to satisfy Chi-Chi and she rose from her chair, beaming. “That’s cool. I’m gonna head to the gym with the guys and see if I can make Yamcha cry like I did the other day. Have fun in your classes, Ellie!”

The rest of the day didn’t feel quite as strange. I attended my chemistry class and didn’t meet anyone nearly as interesting as the group in calculus, which gave me plenty of time to collect my thoughts and write neat notes. In biology I met a nice girl with dark blue hair nicknamed Launch for unknown reasons, and she introduced herself as Tien’s girlfriend. She was bubbly and friendly.

Three o’clock rolled around and I made my way to the cafeteria to grab myself some lunch. The din surrounding me wasn’t disorienting and instead let me blend in with the crowd, slipping between people to find food with muttered apologies. 

I paid for my food with my meal plan and turned with tray in hand to find a table when a person barged into me, knocking everything out of my hands and onto the floor. My eyes widened with embarrassment as the noise in the cafeteria died down and milk trickled across the linoleum. What the fuck.

The aggressor laughed. “Watch where you’re going, girly.”

Slowly, I raised my head to see a tall guy with long, black hair tied in a low ponytail grinning at me. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt that accentuated his muscles but I was more focused on the cruel expression etched in his face. I held my empty tray loosely at my side as all eyes turned to us. I was too pissed off to feel any more humiliated by their stares.

“Maybe if you got your head out of your ass I wouldn’t have to,” I snapped.

There was a collective murmur. The stranger scowled and stepped closer to me, tilting his neck menacingly, but I didn’t back down. He wouldn’t dare put his hands on me in a crowded cafeteria.

He leaned down so we were eye-to-eye and I was stuck staring into pools of black. “You must be Hayworth’s younger sister—the resemblance is uncanny. Tell you what: I’ll let you walk away without a scratch if you take back those words, little girl.”

Goddammit, Owen really needed to stop making so many friends.

A person suddenly wedged themselves between us—a short bald guy with books under his arms. The rude man backed away but curled his lip in disgust.

“Hey, Raditz, don’t you have other stuff to do?” the mediator suggested in a nervous tone. “All your buddies just threw me out of the exercise room so you could go there if you’ve got some aggression to take out instead of bullying a freshman.”

“Oh, I’m gonna enjoy punching you later, Krillin,” Raditz said. He waved to me sarcastically and I bristled. “Have a nice day, mini-Owen.”

Krillin held firmly onto my arm when I took a step toward Raditz and he sauntered off down the hall, bathing the cafeteria in noise again. I clenched my hands into fists and began collecting what I could from the floor with the help of the newcomer, who remained silent the entire time. He was awfully short but he didn’t have body proportions like a midget.

I nodded stiffly. “Thanks for your help.”

“Don’t mention it.” 

Krillin tossed the floor-food in the garbage and escorted me back into the cafeteria, where I picked out my second lunch for the day. We sat at a table together and I angrily wolfed down my food. He watched me with wide eyes for a while and suddenly burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, mouth full of food.

“Nothing, you just remind me of someone. So you’re Ellie, right? Owen’s sister.”

“Yeah, I am, and I’m also curious to know how my brother is acquainted with 90% of this school. I mean, he’s always been popular but this really surprises me.”

“Got me,” Krillin said, sipping his soda. “He and Goku became friends so that might be why.”

Who was this “Goku” character? I picked at the remainder of my spaghetti, frustrated beyond comprehension with the day’s events. Everyone I met either knew him or my brother and apparently, Owen wasn’t a favorite in everyone’s eyes. He would have a lot of explaining to do when I got back to the dorms after I met my tutoree. I’d make sure I ripped him a new one.

A tall, attractive blonde girl with a serious face sat beside Krillin and he excitedly introduced her as his girlfriend, Anayte. She was another stunner like Bulma but didn’t have the same openly personality and only inclined her head politely as greeting. There was something strange about her but I was so deeply involved in all the other oddities that I didn’t bother ruminating over it. Maybe I was just jealous.

The two of them left for their classes after and I made my way to the library to meet the student I would be tutoring. I hoped she would talk fast and get things over with quickly, because Owen wasn’t answering my text messages and he needed a serious vocal beating. People drifted past me in the hallway and I kept my face buried in my phone, waiting impatiently for my brother to reply.

The library wasn’t as quiet as it should have been. I shouldered my bag and walked upstairs to the soundproofed area where the other tutors wanted to meet, surrounded by rows of shelves and very few students. They weren’t allowed to talk upstairs so most of them hung out in the common area.

The four other tutors were sitting together at a table and I was told to go to one towards the back and wait for my student. I sat down and immediately took out my calculus textbook to brush up on everything I had missed, nervously gnawing on the cap of my pen. Maybe I wasn’t a good fit to tutor math. If I couldn’t even pay attention in my own class, who was I to teach?

Someone collapsed in the chair beside me and I heard books on the table. I didn’t glance up from my notes quite yet, expecting they needed to organize themselves first.

“Sorry I’m late,” said a distinctly masculine voice. “I got caught up in the gym and… and…” His sentence drifted off.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind. My name’s Ellie. Why don’t you tell me your…”

Then I looked up into two unfathomable dark eyes that appraised me through the harsh overhead lighting bathing the library. My gaze swept across him, drinking in each detail: he was built like the others, muscular and obviously an athlete, and he had crazy black hair that stuck out in fifty different directions. To my surprise, he was staring at me with equivalent shock.

I didn’t know if it was love at first sight, but it was the closest I would ever come.

He swallowed. “Uh… I’m Goku, and I’m really bad at math.”


	3. How To Tutor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I should also mention that I'm notorious with my readers for short (2000 words) chapters but frequent updates. I try to put one major scene per chapter to keep people from getting bored.

The damn words I had been absolutely dreading rolled off Goku’s tongue in the next second.

“Oh, you must be Owen’s sister!”

If I was writing with a pen, it would’ve snapped clean in half. I smiled tightly at the five-hundredth person acquainted with my older brother and the cogs in my mind began to turn. So they were all in one big clique, apparently, and Owen happened to be at the head of it. That didn’t seem right. He didn’t really… fit in with any of them and I knew for a fact he wasn’t into martial arts.

What was it about my brother that got him tied up with such strange people?

Goku slouched forward on the table and I noticed his orange shirt was damp with sweat, proving he had indeed been at the gym like he said. He cocked his head at me with innocuous curiosity but there was something else in his eyes that I couldn’t digest. It was alarming. Was I seeing a sinister flicker?

I shut my calculus book quickly. No, no, relax, Ellie. If you’re not more trusting of people you’ll never make friends like Owen has. Jeez, he’s really blossomed since he left home.

“Yes, sorry,” I said. “I’m just ceaselessly surprised by how many people Owen knows. And I thought I’d be tutoring someone younger in algebra but—“ I stopped suddenly and held up my hands apologetically. “N-not that you’re stupid or anything; some people just don’t get math so… so…”

There was an ease about Goku that I had never seen in a guy before. I would’ve expected a normal person to at least roll their eyes at my babbling, but he beamed. His body didn’t stiffen in the least. My jabbering hadn’t offended him and he was finding it amusing.

“It’s alright, I’m pretty dumb. I only got into this school because I’m good at punching people!”

“Oh,” I faltered. “You do the martial arts thing, too? I didn’t know that was even a sport.”

“Uh huh, my friends and I asked the school to let us.” Goku leaned back in his chair, tilting on the edges of the legs, and grinned at me. “You’re smart like Bulma, though. I can tell. D’you make cool gadgets and gizmos like her and her dad? I love going to Capsule Corp. and lookin’ at stuff.”

“Ah… no. I’m going to be a pharmacist.”

The creaking of his chair stopped very suddenly. He was staring at the ceiling, still smiling.

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “Your brother mentioned that a while ago.”

Thank you, Owen, for talking about me behind my back!

Unnerved, I opened the algebra textbook Goku had brought and decided to start with something simple—graphing wasn’t that tough. He whistled to himself merrily while I picked out a few problems and wrote them down on a sheet of paper, worried about how many things Owen had spilled to his friends. He was always so social and outgoing… what if something bad slipped out?

Goku suddenly dropped back on his chair properly, dramatically flopping his upper body across the table in an attempt to catch my attention. They didn’t even tell me his damn name when I agreed to tutor but I was beginning to suspect he had ADHD or something like that. He kept twitching like he had somewhere to be that was much more important than learning math.

Typical muscle-bound brute. He would go on to be paid millions to “punch people” and I would listen to a woman screaming her prescriptions at me over a loud speaker. Entertainment came before healthcare, after all, so I wasn’t sure what else I was supposed to expect. I pressed my lips together and shoved the paper beside Goku’s lean arm, pointing at the first slope problem.

“This should be easy,” I said tersely. “Do you know the formula for slope?”

He held the paper in front of himself, studying it with furrowed brows like he’d never seen anything more confusing. The minutes ticked by. I wrung my hands underneath the table.

Then he smiled triumphantly at me. “Nope, not a clue!”

“B… but how do you not even know slope?!”

“I’ve got a bad memory, I guess. This is my… third time taking algebra! Can you believe it?! Yamcha took that other hard math class a bunch of times and I can’t even do this one!”

“Do you know what a variable is?” I asked in a rising pitch. “‘X’ and ‘y’ and all that?”

“Mmm, kind of.” He set the paper down and put his arms behind his head, completely and utterly relaxed. “My math professor said I’m gonna have to study all the time and get a really good tutor if I want to make it to my junior year. I hope I do so I can keep punchin’ the heck out of people!”

Oh, Jesus Christ.

I pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers and reviewed the first few chapters with Goku to establish exactly where he was in algebra. He knew how to substitute and balance an equation, but hadn’t gone far beyond that (or had a selective memory). It would be a long journey getting him to the point where he could confidently solve a long equation but I hoped I could be of help. After all, if he failed algebra, he would be thrown out of school.

There was no pressure in that fact whatsoever. I had just moved to West City in hopes of becoming a pharmacist, and I met more people in one day than I had throughout my entire life. On top of that, I had to be Owen’s babysitter and teach some ludicrously attractive kung-fu guy how to add polynomials.

Soon he was draped over the table again with the math problems between his arms, glaring at them while I brushed up on my calculus. The library was getting quieter and quieter and I wondered how long we had been together upstairs. It was only supposed to be for two hours twice a week.

The paper slid toward me and pleading, dark eyes met mine. “I dunno how to do this one,” he mumbled into his arm like a pouting child. “Can you help me, Amelia?”

“Ellie,” I corrected absently, leaning toward him to examine the problem. “Oh, this isn’t that bad. Look, when you’re combining a lot of terms together you need to remember PEMDAS—it’s the order of operations. If you don’t do it right, you’ll get a crazy answer. Parenthesis first, then exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction.”

“So I’ve gotta multiply before I divide and add before I subtract?”

“No, those go together.” I sketched out the answer with my pen beside his attempt, writing out ‘PEMDAS’ and circling the ‘MD’ and ‘AS’. “See? Whichever comes first goes first.”

He perched his chin on his forearm, examining my notes. “So in this one I would multiply two and four before diving four by two again, right?”

I nodded encouragingly. “Exactly. See? You’re gonna do just fine in algebra, Goku.”

A few of Owen’s friends didn’t seem too bad and Goku was definitely one of them. He was willing to learn when he got past his attention problem and was genuinely friendly to me. The only one I hadn’t liked was Raditz, but I doubted my brother would get tangled up with that type of guy. It struck me that Goku might know more about the certifiable jackass.

I felt kind of bad interrupting his intense concentration. He was slowly writing each number like his life depended on it, comically sticking out his tongue and grasping his paper with one hand. My eyes roamed curiously across the contours of his fingers until I caught myself with a furious blush. Christ, quit ogling the tutee, Hayworth.

I coughed uncomfortably and tapped my eraser on my notebook. “So, Goku, do you know a guy named Raditz? He kind of almost knocked me over.”

The tip of Goku’s pencil broke. I became aware of how silent the library was.

“Raditz?” he echoed in a strange voice.

“Uh, yeah. Your nice friend Krillin, who is incidentally friends with my freaking brother, came between us before I socked him in the mouth.” I shook my head angrily at the memory.

My tutee sat up in a smooth motion, suddenly much calmer than before. His smile was gone. “Did Raditz put his hands on you at all?”

“No, except when he hit me in the shoulder and made me drop my lunch. It’s not a big deal, I just—”

“Of course it’s a big deal,” Goku interrupted, gazing impassively at his math work. “I can’t let my older brother walk around campus pushing girls, now can I?”

“He’s your brother?! I never would’ve guessed that. You two look nothing alike.”

Then Goku rose with a cool expression on his face that was far different than the one I had seen when we first met up. He organized his books and smiled down at me.

“I’ll catch up with you later, Ellie,” he said. “Thanks a lot. I think you’re gonna make me really smart.”

It felt like a veil came over his face that obscured his true thoughts from me. Goku was terribly guarded and I could only blabber “sure” before he left the library, shoulders rigid. Uh oh. Was I creating drama in the group my brother hung out with? It hadn’t been a big deal, Raditz was just a little rude.

Bemused, I packed up my things and decided to study in my dorm after confronting Owen. Of course my tutee had a brother who I had brought up in the midst of teaching and distracted him with. Raditz was going to hate me even more now and I’d probably have my food knocked out of my hands a ton of times. I winced, walking quickly back to the dorms. 

They were already crowded because the second day of classes was also a good excuse to get drunk in the hallways. I picked my way amongst the people to my brother’s room across the wing and knocked a few times on his door, threatening to kick it down if he didn’t answer.

The door only opened a crack and I struggled to wedge my foot in and force it open all the way. Owen would not budge. I could only see his fingers wrapped around the edge of the door. People brushed past me, oblivious to my peaking rage. Oh, what the hell was wrong with him now?!

“Would you mind telling me why 75% of the school knows you?” I demanded. “And why won’t you let me in? Do you have a girl in there or something?”

Owen breathed out in an off-kilter sigh. “I’m glad your first day went well, Ellie. I was worried.”

Then he slammed the door shut in my face and I heard the lock twist into place.

I stood in the sea of strangers for a few minutes, trying to digest what had just happened. Owen never treated me like that at home. Was I being a pest?

Bewildered and a bit upset by my brother’s rejection, I scurried back to my dorm and holed myself inside for the night. I didn’t want anyone else asking if I was ‘Owen’s little sister’ and I didn’t want to run into Raditz again. It was my first day and I still had a lot of things to learn about the school itself, plus my new job at Hannah’s Pharmacy started at the end of the week.

It was too busy in the halls for me to risk a trip to the shower. I put away my textbooks, wrote down my next meeting with Goku, which was in two days, and planned for my next day while I waited for the party to die down. Breathe, Ellie. Take everything in stride, one step at a time.

I gnawed on my pen. Yeah, one step at a time.


	4. How To Make Enemies

Mercifully, my Tuesdays were only occupied by an introductory art class that didn’t include any of Owen’s older friends, who were getting closer to graduation. I took a seat toward the back of the classroom and settled in comfortably for the three hour lecture while more and more students shuffled in with groggy expressions, clearly not morning people like I was. Art was interesting to me and a 101 class would consist of tons of notes instead of practical application.

The professor arrived a few minutes late—she was an older woman with curly grey hair and a frazzled disposition. She began the lecture around nine and I found myself drifting off in deep thought, mulling over the strange occurrences from the day before. 

Owen still hadn’t called me or texted me, but that could be attributed to the nasty hangover he undoubtedly had. I gnawed my pen absentmindedly and fingered my phone jutting out from my pocket, considering ditching a few minutes of class to get in contact with my parents. They wanted me to watch over him, after all, and part of that meant tattling like a good little sister. If he crashed and burned I would be the one paying out the nose for it.

Then there was the whole thing with his friends, whom he seemed to have in spades. There was Chi-Chi, who gave me a strange, unsettling vibe, and the two nice martial artists from calculus: Yamcha and Tien. They were both very polite. Raditz had been a miss after he knocked my food out of my hands but Krillin was just as polite as his two buddies from math. His girlfriend (Anatye?) was kind of standoffish.

They were all fairly cut-and-dry people. I thought I could file each of them away neatly in my memory bank, carefully categorizing their personalities and recalling what I needed to. I’d never found a person perplexing before, even though I kept to my small circle of friends as a general rule.

The reflection of Goku’s beaming smile when he admitted he didn’t understand slope was sticking to my forebrain no matter what I did. Something about him had been… well, appealing. Sure he was physically attractive—I wouldn’t had to have been blind to not notice that fact—but the rest of Owen’s group weren’t exactly hit with the ugly stick. No, there was definitely something about Goku himself; something in our time together that had piqued my curiosity.

All I had to do was figure out what in the hell it was.

Class was dismissed around 11 and I left with my new syllabus neatly tucked in the appropriate binder. I returned to my dorm to put my things away and was getting ready to head to the cafeteria when there was a knock on my door. My thoughts immediately turned to Owen and I pulled it open.

Bulma was smiling at me. She was wearing a pair of grease-stained overalls with a baggy red shirt but still managed to look absolutely radiant. Her blue hair was pulled back, also black in places from her work in the technology lab, and a wrench was jutting out from her pocket. I smiled back, grateful for her offered friendship. She seemed like Owen’s type.

“I saw you walking back,” she said. “Want to go grab lunch with me?”

“Oh, sure! I’m done with classes today so I’m up for anything.”

My insides winced nervously. The last thing I needed to do was sound desperate for friends.

We walked through the uncharacteristically empty hallways to the main hall where the cafeteria was, and Bulma chattered away about how sick my brother was. She didn’t even leave it open for me to ask in the first place and I half-heartedly accepted her excuses. It wasn’t like him to be that sick.

The cafeteria was likewise empty and I got my food without any problems. Bulma wrinkled her nose in distaste at the salads before settling on chicken fingers and fries, and I followed her through the checkout line into the deserted sitting area. She walked like she owned the place, escorting me around a set of garbage cans to a table where a few very intimidating guys were sitting.

The biggest one was bald and had a creepy moustache that made my skin crawl a little. There was a scowling man sitting beside him who was much shorter—probably around my height—and he had spiked black hair that looked ridiculous. On his other side sat a guy who was also about my height, but had shorter black hair and seemed terribly uncomfortable. They were all wearing black shirts.

Bulma set down her tray and leaned across the table to kiss the guy in the middle on the forehead, causing his face to flush red. He jerked back and folded his arms angrily while she pulled me into the chair beside her, in front of the awkward guy. I blinked stupidly. Who the hell were they?

“Ellie, this cutie is my boyfriend, Vegeta,” Bulma said, gesturing to the pissed-off short guy. “That’s his brother, Tarble—” She pointed to Mr. Uncomfortable “—and the big brute on the end is Nappa. This is Owen’s sister, everyone. Say hi and play nice.”

Vegeta scowled so deeply I thought his face would implode. “She shouldn’t be here, Bulma.” His voice was rough and cold, like black ice.

My blue-haired friend rolled her eyes. “Relax. I’m just introducing her to everyone I can so she can make some more friends. It’s hard moving to a new place.”

Nappa crossed his arms as well and I suddenly felt very unwelcome. 

“It’s okay,” I said quickly, grasping my tray, “I can sit somewhere else.”

“No, no, you’ll stay right here.” Bulma popped a fry in her mouth, smirking wryly at the men across the table. “They’re all throwing a hissy fit. Except Tarble, but he doesn’t do much of anything.”

“Leave my brother out of this!” Vegeta snapped.

The two of them began to bicker fiercely and I resigned myself to eating small pieces of my salad. Well, all of Owen’s friends couldn’t like me. That was kind of demanding for me to expect they would. At least the really nice ones were genuine; it was just too bad that the mean ones were seriously nasty.

Their argument escalated until they both left the table, yelling all the way out of the cafeteria and attracting the eyes of everyone present. I shrank low in my chair and peered up at Nappa’s angry eyes before deciding it was time for me to have my lunch elsewhere. I gathered my food and hurried back through the main hall to the dormitory, quickly shutting myself inside to eat in peace.

I dropped into my desk chair and ate while checking emails and answering my friends back home who were curious to know how school was going. It was still too early to accurately judge but I only told them “well enough” before digging voraciously into my lunch. It was a good thing I brought an entire tote full of snacks or I would’ve starved by the end of the first week.

I’d hardly started my calculus homework when there was another knock on my door, but I recognized this one. I leapt out of my chair and flung open the door to hug Owen tightly around the neck, forcing him to swing me around or risk falling over. He awkwardly set me down and people muttered to one another but I didn’t particularly care. I was more concerned with the ugly bruise on my brother’s eye.

I gasped and grabbed his face between my hands, horrified. “Owen! What the hell happened?!”

“It’s nothing, Ellie. I was drunk last night and tripped.”

“You’re so full of shit! Who punched you? Tell me and I swear to god—”

“Amelia,” he said firmly, invoking the power of my full name, “please drop it. I wanted to come down and let you know I’m fine. I was puking a lot.”

The people shuffling past us seemed to fade away as I stared into my brother’s shifting eyes, one of which was a hideous purple. What was West University doing to Owen?

He was quiet for a while, then grasped my wrists to pull my hands away from his face and set them neatly back at my sides. I watched him stuff his hands in his pockets and nod stiffly at me before vanishing into the throng of students, once again leaving me with a million questions.

It was impossible to focus in my dorm. I threw my books in my bag and hurried back to the main building to visit the library, where things felt a lot less confusing. It was quiet there as well—the new feeling of college was dying down for the freshmen—but I still stole upstairs to sit in the back where I had tutored Goku. There was no need for me to risk more confusing interruptions.

When I turned around the corner of a bookshelf, I came to a halt.

Raditz was standing at the other end with his arm in an elaborate sling. His eyes looked exhausted until they fell upon me and immediately turned hostile, burning with distaste and hatred. I blinked in shock and took a step back, prompting him to curl his lip in a bestial grin. He was wearing a black shirt.

“Wondering what happened to me, little girl?” he sneered.

“Um… no, not really. But I know you don’t care for me, so I’m waiting right here until you leave.” I shifted my weight to one side and narrowed my eyes. “I’m not afraid of you.”

The tall, indisputably frightening man turned toward me. “Man, if my arm wasn’t broke…”

“Do you mind? I need to pick out some reference books for biology.”

“I’m not stopping you. Come right over here and pick them out, little girl. You’re not afraid of me, right?”

“Did you touch my brother yesterday?” I demanded, temper flaring. “He has a black eye.”

Raditz set his hand on his hip and bent over so we were eye level. He looked even more unpleasant. “How d’you think I broke my arm?”

I blanched. What?! Raditz had to be lying—my brother wouldn’t break a guy’s arm because he pushed me! That was way over the top violence for him, and he would’ve owned up to it when he saw me. No way. Had Raditz attacked my brother as retribution for me mouthing off? 

It wasn’t even my third day of classes and I already had a mystery on my hands. It felt like there was a conspiracy swirling around me that wasn’t quite tangible. People knew what they were supposed to.

Someone sighed behind me. “Raditz, how’d you wind up in the library?”

When I spun around I came face-to-face with Goku’s chest and the familiar scent of pine needles and body spray he carried with him. He was literally inches behind me and I took a quick, awkward step back, clutching my books to my chest while he smiled across the rows of books to his older brother. He was relaxed; one hand was in his pocket and the other was holding a binder under his arm.

“S-sorry,” I stammered. “I didn’t mean to bump into you.”

“It’s so nice to see you, Goku,” Raditz said, immediately bristling like an angry cat. There had been a sharp inflection when he said his brother’s name, as if he wanted to call him something else. “I was getting some research materials for my project and ran into your new little friend.”

“You seem to be bothering Ellie. Maybe you should leave.”

“No, he’s not going anywhere,” I said. “He punched my brother in the face yesterday because he and I had words in the cafeteria, and that’s not okay. Go apologize to Owen.”

“Oh, I’ll give him an apology,” Raditz hissed. “My right is my punching arm but I can still throw him a mean left hook. As a matter of fact, I owe you an apology, Ellie.”

Goku stepped closer to me and I was keenly aware of his presence: my scalp prickled nervously. He was awfully warm. And tall. And he could’ve killed a man with his bare hands, judging by his biceps. 

“That mouth of yours is always getting you into trouble,” Goku said in a quiet, restrained tone. He was standing behind me so I couldn’t gauge his facial expression but I imagined it was terrifying. “Now, Raditz. Go home and stay away from Owen. You’ve proven your point.”

The older brother scowled but did as he was told. His eyes flickered from his damaged arm past me, up to his brother’s eyes, and he left while shaking his head. 

The upper floor was plunged into stiff silence—Goku and I were utterly alone. I swallowed and put some distance between us before turning to smile up at him. He was already gazing down at me, dark eyes unreadable under the harsh fluorescent lighting. His shirt wasn’t damp was sweat but it was a bit tight so I could see the vague outline of his musculature underneath.

No, Ellie. Don’t think about your tutee that way.

“Thanks,” I said, rubbing at my face to hide my blush. “I have to go apologize to Owen for dragging him into this whole thing with your brother. Still, I can’t believe he broke Raditz’s arm!”

Goku shrugged, an impassive enigma. “We all do crazy stuff for the people we care about. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I can’t have my tutor getting into fights in the library, right?”

I laughed. He’d already put me at ease again.

“Of course not,” I said, “that would be bad press.”

“Mhm.” He tilted his head and took a piece of paper out of his pocket to hand to me. “This is my number. Text or call me if anything comes up, okay? I told Owen I’d keep an eye on you.”

“I’m more worried about him than myself. He’s always getting into trouble like this.”

“…Yeah, I guess he is. I’ve gotta go help Bulma with some stuff. See you tomorrow, Ellie.”

With a conspiratorial wink, Goku left, and I was standing between the shelves clutching his cell phone number. I blinked owlishly before sitting at the quiet table in the back and sending Owen an apologetic text. What a strange, strange group.


	5. How To Fit In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONE MORE THING and then I'll stop posting these. Anayte = Android 18. Not really a good name for a teenager in our world so I made something quick up that sounded kind of normal.

Calculus was enormously uncomfortable on Wednesday morning. Yamcha and Tien were utterly at ease, snickering at YouTube videos while the professor droned on at the front of the classroom. They had begun to draw offensive caricatures of Krillin before Chi-Chi pinched Yamcha’s ear to make him stop and hissed at both of them to be quiet. They settled down and morosely copied their notes, leading me to smile at Chi-Chi for getting them to be quiet.

She wouldn’t even glance at me—her eyes were focused only on her notebook and didn’t roam anywhere else for the rest of the class. I nervously wondered if I had already done something to offend her but decided she must have just been especially studious that morning. We’d only known one another for all of three days. It wouldn’t have been fair for her to already render a judgment call.

The professor dismissed us a few minutes early and Yamcha turned in his seat to grin at me, finally rousing Chi-Chi’s attention. Tien turned as well to regard me with the same beguiling look.

“Heard your brother broke Raditz’s arm,” Yamcha said breezily, like we were discussing the weather. He shook his head but his smile didn’t fade. “Y’know, Tien and I are in the martial arts club but even we wouldn’t want to get tangled up with the Saiyans. They’re bad news.”

“Owen knew what he was doing,” Chi-Chi said brusquely. “He’s been friends with all of us long enough to know what’s right and what’s wrong. Maybe he and Goku should stop spending so much time around Bulma, since she’s well on her way to being inducted into the gang. Absolutely despicable.”

“My brother is in a gang?!” I gasped.

Tien glared at Chi-Chi while he gathered his things.

“Of course not,” he said. “The Saiyans aren’t a legitimate gang like what you see in the city, just a group of rough guys hanging out together. It’s not what you think.”

“As if Goku would ever talk to his brother if he was actually in a gang!” Yamcha laughed and stood up, running a hand through his hair. “No, Owen isn’t anywhere near being a gang member. He hangs out with all of us. It’s just been… different lately because Bulma and Vegeta are kind of a thing, and Goku is trying to make up for lost time with Raditz. Nothing to worry about.”

Chi-Chi stood along with them and offered me a cold smile. “That’s right, just keep tutoring my boyfriend so he can coast through his classes. I’ll make sure everything he actually cares about is taken care of. Thanks a bunch, Amelia.”

She proceeded to grab Yamcha by the ear and drag him from the room, followed closely by Tien demanding she let him go. I sat blankly in my chair for a few extra minutes and digested her words. Was she threatened by me tutoring Goku? I didn’t even know they were dating. Maybe I had been too distracted by staring at him to consider that an attractive athlete would probably have a girlfriend.

Guilt burned red hot in my cheeks and I quickly left to go to chemistry. Owen knew way too many people for me to get a grasp on them. Krillin was dating Anayte, Tien was dating Launch, Goku was dating Chi-Chi, Bulma was dating Vegeta… Christ, how the hell would I keep up?

Throughout chemistry I was hard at work taking notes and enjoying the peaceful serenity. Learning mattered more to me than worrying about my social life, so I was able to drink in what the professor communicated and felt more than ready for my first lab. Both my biology and chemistry labs were held Thursday mornings so I could have Fridays all to myself. I couldn’t wait. I considered visiting home to see how mom and dad were dealing with my absence.

Launch was absent from biology, offering me yet another quiet and productive science class. I reminded myself to review cell structure and the professor dismissed class almost an hour early due to not feeling well. The other students cheered and hurried from their seats to get lunch and I plodded along after them, wondering if I should ask Owen to come home with me.

And on my way out the door, I bumped into a familiar body, nearly spilling my books on the floor.

Goku grasped my shoulder to steady me, laughing at my shellshock. I quickly pulled away and pulled my things closer to my chest while he continued to grin. Krillin was standing beside him with a towel carelessly flung over his shoulder and both of them were wearing athletic shorts with matching orange shirts. I puffed indignantly, feeling a blush coming on. Of course Goku was failing math! Every time I saw him he was coming back from the damn gym.

He tilted his head slightly and set his hands on his hips. 

“Are you sure you didn’t accidentally bump into my brother in the cafeteria, Ellie?” he teased. “You’ve always got your face in your phone.”

“Shut up,” I mumbled, turning my gaze down to my books.

Krillin whistled. “She wasn’t like this yesterday! You must’ve spooked her pretty bad, Goku.”

“Guess so,” Goku said flippantly. I could feel his eyes on me. It was like a burn.

“Well you never told me you were dating Chi-Chi,” I said, becoming defensive. I risked peering up at him to gauge his response and was kind of relieved that his eyes widened. “That would’ve been nice to know, because now she thinks I’m after you or something.”

“You two are still dating?” Krillin asked Goku.

The taller man rubbed the back of his head, frowning deeply. It wasn’t really a good look for him but it somehow felt more real than the smile he plastered on his face most of the time. Goku was definitely the most enigmatic of Owen’s friends. My pulse raced at the prospect of tutoring him later on.

“We aren’t,” Goku said. “I’m gonna go talk to her. I’ll see you at five, Ellie.”

“Sure,” I said.

Then he was gone, projecting the same foreboding tight smile he had when we encountered Raditz in the library. I watched Goku disappear down the hall before Krillin chuckled and caught my attention again. Oh, shit. I really needed to pay attention to who I was staring at.

I straightened with regal disdain. “Have a good day, Krillin. Tell Anayte I said hi.”

When I hurried off in the other direction I could hear him laughing to himself.

Bulma was waiting outside my door when I arrived back in the residence hall. She smiled broadly; at least someone wasn’t upset with me. I smiled back and waved as I approached, brandishing my key. A familiar face. Maybe she knew more about my brother’s involvement with the Saiyans. She was dating their ringleader, after all, who I found to be kind of insufferable.

She swept lint off her pretty red blouse while I unlocked my door. 

“So, I heard Chi-Chi gave you a hard time earlier,” she said.

I raised an eyebrow. “That wasn’t even half an hour ago. Does word spread that fast?”

“Yamcha and I dated for a long time. He tells me texts me all the details.” She stood politely in the doorframe to hold it open while I put my things away.

“It wasn’t a big deal. I’m not mad, if that’s what you’re suggesting. I don’t want to get into any kind of drama or nonsense with her.”

“That’s fine with me. Chi-Chi and I don’t get along—we haven’t since she dated Goku and insisted I was sleeping with him. Please, he and I have known each other since we were kids. If I wanted him, I would’ve had him a long time ago.” She paused, smirking. “Then again, Goku isn’t the same dopey little brat I met in the middle of the woods.”

“You two are friends?” I clarified, trying not to show too much interest.

Bulma cocked her head, still smirking disconcertingly. “Yeah, ever since I met the weird kid from Mt. Paozu when I was eight. We were thick as thieves back then and... nevermind. That’s probably a better story for Goku to tell you. Anyway, we met Yamcha and Tien over the years, and Goku began his everlasting bromance with Krillin. Chi-Chi came into the picture in high school.”

Huh. So Goku and Bulma met when they were very young and became friends before they met everyone else. I hung my bag off the end of my bed and walked back out of my room to lock it again.

“She can have him,” I said. “I don’t want to break any relationships up.”

“Aww, you’re not even gonna try fighting for him?” Bulma asked, pouting her lower lip.

“N-no!” I spluttered. “I met him two days ago! It’s… it’s none of my business. They both like the whole martial arts thing, and they’ve known each other for…”

“Six years. Goku just started his junior year.”

“Six years,” I repeated, walking briskly down the hallway with Bulma trailing behind. “I’m only here to teach him math. I don’t want to be involved with him otherwise. I’m too busy watching over my older brother to worry about any other guy right now.”

She smiled. “We’ll see.”

The cafeteria was dense with people. Bulma pulled me around, shoving aside students to help me get the food I wanted, and she sat me down at an empty table when I was cashed out. I glanced around furtively for any sign of the Saiyans or Owen’s weird troupe of friends and suddenly, there were a lot of trays sliding across the table as they all sat down with us.

Krillin sat politely beside Anayte and Yamcha was between Tien and Launch. Launch leaned her head on his arm and Tien busied himself with his food, struggling to act as if she didn’t affect him. Yamcha looked between the couples before irately kicking Bulma in the ankle.

She hissed. “What the hell!”

Yamcha nibbled on his French fry with narrowed eyes. “You’re going to convince him to not go back to her this time, right? Because every time I do he just blows me off.”

“Oh no, not more Chi-Chi and Goku fights,” Tien groaned. “You two are supposed to keep them apart!”

“Working on it,” Bulma said, inclining her head towards me.

Again I was reduced to flustered disagreement. “No, no, I am not getting mixed up in some long, complicated love… thing. You people are not doing this to me.”

“That isn’t going to stop her, anyway.” Krillin sighed and he didn’t seem as robust as when I had last seen him. “Goku can move on just fine but Chi-Chi always finds a way to get him to take her back again. What do you guys think it is? We’ve never really considered it before.”

I shrank down in my seat, wishing I could disappear.

“Probably the sex,” Yamcha offered in a comically serious tone. “If she screams at him like that in public, imagine how it must be when—”

“Things I do not need to haunt my memory,” Bulma interrupted, holding up an index finger. “Number one on that list is definitely my best friend having sex, especially with the woman I detest.”

“He’s a pushover,” Tien suggested.

“I don’t think anyone will ever push over Goku,” Bulma said.

Yamcha waved them both off, chewing his cheeseburger. “Who cares? Either way, it’s bad for everyone. Bulma, you show him the texts she sent the last time they broke up. Krillin, you make sure you listen every time Goku brings Chi-Chi up. Tien… well, you’ve got enough of your own problems.”

“Hey!” Tien said hotly.

“And,” Yamcha continued, “we need our new friend Ellie to keep our friend’s simple, one-track mind concentrated on his math. And maybe she could, I don’t know, distract him with her own feminine wiles. An eye for an eye to intimidate Chi-Chi a little.”

I stabbed my broccoli with my fork and threw a piece at Yamcha, eliciting laughter from the whole table. “Stuff it, Jeter. I’m only doing what the school asked and that’s it.”

We continued our lunch with a relative calmness and I actually got to finish my entire meal. I listened and laughed and smiled while everyone talked, giving me tips on professors and offering to show me around the campus if I so wished. I’d been wrong assuming they were all bad friends if they were weird. That made them all the more interesting and fun to be around.

Yamcha was the clown and Tien balanced him out with cool, collected persona. Launch was giggly and warm; another perfect foil to her boyfriend, while Anayte was withdrawn and perceiving. Krillin was a mixture of amusing and serious and the way he looked at his girlfriend… I kind of wished someone would look at me like that one day. They all meshed together like pieces of a puzzle.

The only real mysteries were Bulma and Goku. Bulma was a bit more transparent: she was the smartest in their group and sat at its head, keeping them all organized and together even if she was involved with Vegeta and the Saiyans. She straddled the line between light and dark in a way but I couldn’t see either one really controlling her. Bulma was very much her own, independent person.

I chewed on a Starburst, ruminating over the penetrating black eyes that had gazed down at me the day before in the library. Goku… Goku was the really confusing part.


	6. How To Hide A Guy

My tutee didn’t show up that night.

I waited until six o’clock before deciding it was time to go. There was only so much homework I had to finish and I assumed Goku was dealing with Chi-Chi or his other friends. I packed up my things with deliberate slowness, still offering him the benefit of the doubt, and wound up heading back to the dorms around 6:30. I chewed the inside of my cheek and hoped everything was okay.

Mila texted me and offered to pick me up the following weekend to come home. I flopped down tiredly on my bed and considered it—Anna had met a guy already and really wanted me to meet him. Plus, it would be nice to hang around my old friends and let my parents know in person that I was doing well. The coursework itself wasn’t too bad: dealing with Owen’s drama was the worst part.

At eight o’clock I went to take a shower, intending on going to bed early that night. Owen was still in a bad mood from his encounter with Raditz and I didn’t want to bother Bulma. Besides, I was tired from the long day I’d had, which included sitting around waiting for my delinquent tutee. I sighed and tilted my head back to let the water run through my long hair while another girl played loud rap music a few stalls down. Another quiet night was okay with me.

My wing was empty. The only sound was the echo of my flip flops slapping against the floor as I made my way back to my room, jangling my keys. It was easier to just wear a long bathrobe down to the bathroom instead of worrying about bringing clothes along. I’d finish drying off and get dressed in my room, where there was no risk of a girl accidentally seeing me.

I put my shower caddy back in my closet and straightened up to take off my robe when a rapid, loud knock distracted me. Annoyed, I tied my robe tighter and opened the door to see who it was.

A hand covered my mouth in the next instant and I was yanked away from the door, which swung shut with a loud bang. I shrieked furiously into the palm, restrained against my assailant by an arm around the front of my stomach, and he quickly pressed the lock on my door. He pressed himself into the corner of my wall and the closet like he was trying to hide from someone.

My spine prickled as I realized who was holding me. Goku had a very particular scent and I could feel his chest heaving against my back while he tried to catch his breath. He rested his chin on the top of my head and swallowed, trembling slightly. What the hell had gotten into—

“GOKU!” screeched a familiar voice. “WHERE ARE YOU HIDING?! I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU!”

Oh. I should’ve seen that one coming.

Goku held me tighter and I was relieved that he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but my lack of clothing wasn’t helping the situation. My face burned while Chi-Chi continued to shriek his name until a few other students blatantly told her to shut up. She stomped back down the hallway, coming closer and closer to my room, and paused briefly outside. I could hear her breathing.

“Ellie? Are you in there?”

I realized I was grabbing Goku’s thighs. Flustered, I yanked his hand away from my mouth and nodded like she could see me. “Y-yeah, what’s up?”

“Have you seen Goku?” she asked in a frighteningly sweet tone.

“Nope,” I squeaked.

“Ugh, alright. Let me know if you do. He’s been trying to avoid me all day.”

Then she stalked off, muttering the different violent things she was going to do when she got her hands on him. I remained perfectly still in Goku’s arms until I was positive she was gone before violently struggling to get away from him, prying at the big hands grasping me firmly.

He released me and rubbed the back of his head, smiling weakly. “So that’s why I missed our tutoring thing today. She’s been after me since I tried talking to her earlier. I didn’t know where else to hide so I came here.” His dark eyes roamed down my fluffy pink bathrobe.

I bristled. “Yeah, well, don’t do that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry, I just didn’t want her to catch me.”

“Uh huh. I’m gonna get dressed now, so would you mind leaving? You missed your appointment today so we’ll meet again next Monday like usual.”

Goku leaned on the wall and stroked his chin. He had a little bit of stubble coming in. “I can’t leave yet with her still wandering around all mad and stuff. Tell you what, I’ll stand right here and cover my eyes while you change and we can do some… math. There’s nothing else to do, right?”

“You’re not watching me get dressed,” I snapped. “Get out!”

“I’m not gonna watch. What do you think I am, some kind of pervert?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I think. I also think you’re a… 20…?”

“Twenty-one,” he murmured, smiling crookedly.

“You’re a 21 year old male so I don’t trust you for an instant in my damn room. Now go away or I’m going to text Owen and tell him to make you go away!”

A cruel twist marred Goku’s smile. “I’m not afraid of Owen Hayworth. C’mon, quit being such a girl and just do it. Look, I’m turning around and everything.” He did as promised and turned to face the wall, clasping his palms over his face. “See? Hurry up or you’re gonna get cold.”

I glared at the back of his head before giving in and flinging open my closet to pick out pajamas. All I had really brought were kind of old and torn—I didn’t really dress for bed with the intention of impressing a guy. Grumbling, I hung up my bathrobe and hurriedly put on panties and a bra, all the while glancing around the edge of my closet door to see if Goku was looking.

After I’d put on sweat pants and an old D.A.R.E. t-shirt from middle school I told him he could turn around. Goku’s eyes felt lascivious but I figured it was because we were in such close quarters and he’d been feeling me up five minutes prior. I brushed out my hair and pinned back my bangs, then turned to see him sitting in my desk chair with his arms behind his head. He rocked the chair back and forth on the hind legs, puckering his lips.

My heart skipped a beat. What was I doing with some guy I barely knew in my room? That in and of itself was bad enough but it was Goku, who I could comprehend about as well as deep time. What did I know other than the fact that he was friends with my brother and a few other nice people? His older brother wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine.

Goku raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong?”

“Uh… no.” I shifted on my feet and wrung my hands. My room was awfully small. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the library? She probably won’t think to look there.”

“I’m sure. Are you nervous?”

“No,” I lied.

“You look nervous.” He cocked his head and let the chair fall back in its rightful place with a loud crack. He pushed it away from the desk and patted his thighs, smiling. “You can sit on my lap if you want.”

My face soured and I climbed in bed instead, gesturing for him to join me. Goku pouted but handed me my laptop and brought my notebook and pen along with him. We both leaned against the wall and his thigh gently touched mine, unassuming and innocent. I opened my laptop and cleared my throat.

“So what do you want to go over?”

He squinted at the screen. “Wanna see a really funny YouTube video? It’s these people dancing around talking about a fox saying something.”

“No, I want to teach you math, like the school asked.”

“But math is boring,” he whined. “One funny YouTube video and then we can do those things with the adding and subtracting and the letters.”

“…Those are variables and I think you’re talking about polynomials.”

Then Goku leaned across my lap to type in YouTube in the search bar and I had my hands poised above his head like an angry cat waiting to strike. He hurriedly typed in the video and clicked it, bursting into laughter the moment the chorus started. I folded my arms and bit my lower lip to keep from laughing. He needed to focus on his math or he was never going to pass.

My eyes flickered down to his wide grin. I didn’t really have the heart to tell him to focus, which was a pretty severe weakness for a tutor. Whatever. It was alright to let him enjoy himself a bit—all the tips for teaching said you should always let a student try to relax before doing something stressful. I slowly lowered my hands to my sides and laughed along with him to the stupid videos, acutely aware of his shoulder pressing against mine. Why did such inane touching make me feel so crazy?

And I was hopelessly caught up in it all before I could stop to think. Goku had that effect on people: he made you feel so utterly at ease that you forgot the important stuff, if only for a few minutes. For the first time, I felt like I could relax and just laugh instead of stressing about school or grades or getting into an internship. We sat together in my steadily darkening room showing one another goofy YouTube videos until I realized it was pushing midnight.

I gasped. “Goku! You didn’t even do any math like you promised!”

His fingers paused on the keyboard in the middle of typing in another cat video and he blinked owlishly. “I promise I’ll do twice as much next week. I’ve gotta show you this one where the cat jumps off a couch and lands on a mini trampoline. Pets are funny. I wish Raditz and I could have one.”

“You don’t live on campus?” I asked, genuinely surprised.

“No, I do, but I go home a lot. It’s not too far away from here—about a ten minute walk—and the dorms are kind of loud and they get crazy some nights.”

That was definitely true. There were plenty of nights when I considered sleeping outside to avoid the ruckus in the hallways. For some reason, I didn’t like the thought of Goku and Raditz living together. They seemed so… different. Raditz was aggressive and mean but his brother was much mellower.

“My family lives a few hours away upstate,” I said. “Otherwise I would definitely commute here. It’s like $8,000 a year just to rent out this tiny room.”

The cursor hesitated over the ‘play’ button. Goku turned to look at me and my pulse plummeted; we were so close, and his black irises were ripping right through me. They wavered around my eyes for a few seconds before drifting down to my lips. I stared at him stupidly as he reached up to grasp my chin with his index finger and thumb to gently push it up, closing my mouth.

He smiled coquettishly. “There’s always room if you want to have a sleepover.”

“Creep!” I accused, pulling free of his grasp. My dorm was starting to feel awfully warm.

“Aww, I’m only teasing you, Ellie. Kind of. We could stay up late and paint each other’s toenails or talk about boys, if you want. I think I have a crush on Vegeta.”

“Bulma won’t appreciate the competition,” I said.

“And it’s definitely steep competition.” Goku stretched his arms toward the ceiling and yawned, blinking blearily. “I think it’s time for my bedtime. Running away from Chi-Chi sure drains the heck out of me. Do you want company tonight or—”

“Get out while you still can.”

“Fair enough,” he sighed. “I guess I already inconvenienced you enough tonight.” Then he slid off the bed and rubbed the back of his head. “Lemme know if you need anything. I hope your classes go good tomorrow, Ellie. You’ll probably run into me at some point. Literally.”

“Prick,” I muttered.

I stood and was surprised by how tired I felt. Goku watched with languid curiosity while I tried to steady myself and groggily shuffled to the door to let him out. He swayed casually into the hallway and gave me a sarcastic two-fingered salute before sauntering off into the silence, leaving me strangely dissatisfied. I pulled my door shut and rubbed my eyes. What the hell had I been expecting?

Thoroughly spent from the day’s drama, I crawled into bed and promptly fell asleep.


	7. How To Start Your Job

All things considered, my first week of college went by without a hitch. It was a pleasant surprise in light of everything that had occurred but I went to my classes like a dutiful student and didn’t have the chance to run into Goku again. It surprised and kind of disappointed me, but I kept reminding myself that I was going to college to get an education, not chase boys. Besides, he was probably busy running away from Chi-Chi or practicing martial arts.

Bulma appeared at my dorm Friday evening with Owen to drag me down to the library, where the gang had gathered to discuss my tutee’s love life. I glared furiously at my brother along the way and he only smiled weakly at me, shuffling along while Bulma insisted they needed my help in an intervention. It felt like something had died in Owen but I couldn’t quite place it. He’d become reclusive and avoided me at all costs no matter how many times I apologized for the issues with Raditz.

We arrived in the library and I winced at the sight of everyone congregated together. Oh no. They called me in to do their dirty work, which I definitely wasn’t interested in after my little encounter with Goku Wednesday night. I hadn’t told a soul about it; not even the girls back home. It felt like a secret and it was honestly too embarrassing to reveal. It would fade away on its own.

Krillin and Anayte were reading a textbook for a history class, completely uninvolved in the conversation and sitting together on a small couch. Tien was sitting alone but beside Yamcha and he looked a bit upset. Of course, Yamcha was pretending to be serious as Bulma pushed me in the couch across from him and plopped between my brother and I. They were all absolutely insane.

“I have to work tomorrow morning,” I said. “I don’t have time for this nonsense.”

“Sure you do!” Bulma said. “We all have to help out a friend in need.”

Yamcha nodded sagely. “Yes, we certainly do. Now, Krillin has so far done his part and helped Goku evade Chi-Chi whenever possible. Bulma has hovered around Goku more often to help with that, so things are looking pretty good. What have you done so far, Ellie?”

“Jack shit. I barely know him.”

Bulma laughed and elbowed me teasingly in the ribs. “C’mon, you have to take care of your student.”

There was something… off. It hummed throughout the group but I could pin it between Bulma and Owen—both of them were awkward amongst the others, who were clearly joking. Why were they pushing me to help Goku? I’d met him only a few days ago, and it wasn’t like we had much in common. The only tangible emotion I had was when I looked into his eyes Monday afternoon. That wasn’t enough to inspire me to compete with another girl for his affection.

They all resumed talking but I noticed Tien seemed morose and more distant than normal. Launch had been absent from our first biology lab and I began to wonder…

A pen tapped me on the forehead to get my attention and I irately ripped it away from Yamcha to throw it back in his face. Bulma burst out laughing and it seemed like the buzz was getting louder. It was her. I couldn’t explain it; I couldn’t pin exactly why, but Bulma was beginning to make me suspicious.

Yamcha scowled, massaging his wound. “Before you blanked out, Bulma and I were saying you should see what Goku’s up to right now. We lost track of him a while ago.”

“I can’t chase him around all night,” I said. “If you’re so worried about it, you do it.”

“Aw, it’s only for a little while.” Bulma grabbed my arm dramatically and pouted her lower lip. “Pleaseee, Ellie? We could really use your help. Goku seems to like you an awful lot and—”

“SHUT UP!”

The mild babble in the library was suddenly cut to silence by Owen’s furious shout. I stared at him in shock: he was flushed red like he was angry beyond belief, and the tendons in his neck were sticking out. He clenched his hands into fists and rose quickly from the couch. That was when I noticed how profusely he was sweating, like he had just run a marathon.

Bulma sat up slowly, gently releasing me. There was a small smile on her face that felt dangerous. Even Yamcha drew back a little at the sight of her expression and my brother swallowed hard.

“I’m only teasing her, Owen,” Bulma said. “Are you still feeling sick?”

Owen glanced at me and I saw fear flit across his features. He gnashed his teeth together and left the library in the next moment, not bothering to offer an explanation. I watched the door slam and the front desk attendants murmur amongst themselves about how angry he looked. That wasn’t my brother. 

I started to stand, shaken by what I had seen. “Maybe I should go check on him.”

“Don’t be silly. He’s just throwing a hissy fit because his little sister is growing up.”

Bulma yanked me back down and gestured for Yamcha to continue giving us suggestions. She looked pleased with herself and soon returned to asking about Goku’s tutoring.

After I was released from the library session I hurried to Owen’s dorm, hoping I could catch him before he went out with a pretty girl or something. I knocked on his door for a few minutes and called his phone a few times to get him to answer me but he was dead silent. I stood back from his door, holding my books tightly to my chest. Owen, what have you gotten yourself mixed up in now?

I took a shower and got ready for bed, fully intending on telling my parents about what was going on. But when I lay down in my soft sheets and prepared to break it to my mother gently that her son was most definitely not doing well, I received a message that brought tears to my eyes.

_Please don’t tell_

_Love you_

So I fell asleep that night with a bundle of nerves in my gut, shivering nervously in regards to a thousand different things. My new job started in the morning. Something was wrong with my brother and he wouldn’t tell me. Bulma was giving me the creeps. Goku was a complete and utter mystery who I was completely and utterly intrigued by. 

The first day of work started fairly well—the pharmacist, Andy, was an older man who was more than happy to brush me up on the basics. I was only allowed to cash customers out until I obtained my license, which I could do after a simple test in a few weeks. West City was a nice place so none of them were particularly rude or difficult, and before I knew it the day was nearly over. I was pretty pleased and helped Andy out whenever I could with cleaning or organization.

Around three, when I was busy wiping down the counters, I became aware of a person standing directly in front of me. I immediately straightened up and smiled up at them only to instantly frown.

Goku was wearing dark jeans and an equally dark t-shirt that made him look a bit delinquent. He had his hands in his pockets, totally at ease, and he was smiling mockingly at me. I placed my palms on the counter and leaned toward him, twisting my polite smile into something much more foreboding.

“Can I help you, sir?” I asked.

Andy was a ways away, taking inventory of the pills amongst the shelves. He didn’t so much as glance up when Goku placed his hands on the counter as well and tilted his lips close to my ear. His breath was warm and smelled vaguely of peppermint—it was hard to keep my breathing steady. If another customer saw us they would think they’d walked in on something very private.

“Could you show me where you keep your condoms?” he murmured.

Nope. I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me with something so childish.

I drew back and let Andy know I was helping a customer find a product, to which the pharmacist only nodded and smiled. Goku followed me across a few aisles to the feminine care section, where everything regarding sex or a girl’s lady parts was kept. He stood behind me and started when I whirled around to thrust a box of regular condoms against his chest.

“Is that all?” I asked.

“I’m getting the distinct feeling that you’re upset, Ellie.” Goku reached past me to put the condoms back and squinted at the selection, cool as a cucumber. “Don’t tell me you’re still mad about Wednesday night. I really was trying to get away from… uh… you know who.”

“Of course I’m not mad about that. I’m mad because you stalked me to my new job to try to embarrass me in front of my boss!”

Goku picked up a different box but I was too mortified to look. “This is the closest pharmacy to my apartment. I’m not stalking you at all, but I’m kinda flattered you think I am.”

I gnawed on my lip. “Whatever. Get your stuff and get out.”

“What time are you off work?”

“What’s it to you?”

“Gee, you’re really aggressive today,” he said with a childish grin. “Raditz is having a party later and I wanted you to come down with me. He usually invites a lot of people I don’t like and I already hate get-togethers. Bulma and Vegeta are gonna be there, too.”

“I’m… not exactly the part type,” I replied.

“Me neither! So why don’t you come with me? Wouldn’t it be nice to get out?”

Admittedly, socializing with more people was a good idea. It was stressful meeting so many new faces in a short period of time but contacts were king in the current world, and I needed plenty of them. I set to chewing my nails and my eyes roamed to the box of condoms dangling from Goku’s fingertips. It was black with a gold border and I narrowed my eyes when I read the big letters on the front.

“Why the hell are you buying that kind?!” I hissed. I ripped them out of his grasp and shook the box angrily. “These are so gross! They’re made from lambskin. Do you know what they mean by lambskin? Sheep intestines! You using a dead sheep’s intestines for your… your… private business!”

Goku was enjoying himself a bit too much. He cocked his head and smirked, glancing between the box and my furious expression. “So? They feel better than the other ones.”

“And they don’t protect against STDs, either! You could get HIV, you know!”

“Well I don’t go using these ones willy-nilly because they’re more expensive and because of the whole STD thing. They’re for girls I know well.”

I folded my arms, cursing my creeping blush. “Okay, whatever. I’m just saying, it’s pretty messed up that you’re using a dead sheep’s intestine instead of rubber like everyone else. It can’t feel that bad to use the normal ones if so many people do every day. You’re just picky.”

“You’re obviously a virgin, so I’ll let that one slide.” Goku’s eyes raked down my rather unappealing work outfit and he raised an eyebrow. “But if you ever want to find out how they feel—”

“Ellie?” called Andy, interrupting Goku. “Is everything alright?”

“Fine!” I replied. “He was just a little lost. Be right back!” I poked my index finger into Goku’s chest—damn, it felt like a piece of rock—and glared up at him. “You’ve had your fun tormenting me. It’s time to pay for your sheep guts and go back home.”

Andy smiled when I returned and went back to checking prescriptions while I cashed Goku out. He didn’t even want a bag to hide the damn things and simply tucked them under his arm when he took his change. He reminded me to text him and left without much fanfare into the brisk afternoon.


	8. How To Party

Andy let me out around five and I thanked him profusely for being so patient with me throughout the day. He just smiled, telling me it was no problem and that I was a fast learner. I gathered my things from the back room and left into the fading afternoon. It was dusky out already and the kids who had been squealing and running around the sidewalks were now lounging about playing with chalk. I smiled at their brevity before proceeding down the road towards West University.

“Hey, Ellie! Wait up!”

I turned to see Owen hurrying from the side of the building toward me, waving his arm frantically like I wouldn’t notice him. He looked sweaty again and his eyes were sallow as if he hadn’t slept in days. I stood calmly while he caught his breath, balancing his palms on his knees and inhaling raggedly. I’d never known him to be so unfit. He was always the one playing sports and running around, not me.

I shouldered my tote bag and raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with you? Need a Gatorade or something from the store? I have some money left over from my summer job.”

“No, I’m alright.” Owen stood up straight and closed his eyes, still breathing shallowly. “I wanted to talk to you about yesterday. I was really out of line yelling like that, but Bulma is just so damn pushy sometimes that I need to put her in her place. Ever since she started shacking up with Vegeta it’s gotten worse, and now she’s almost unbearable.”

“It’s okay,” I said quietly. I shuffled and looked down at my feet. “I wish you would tell me what was wrong, though. You know I won’t tell mom and dad.”

The crows called to one another overhead and flew off in a crowd across the parking lot, blotting out the sun in shimmering dapples of light. My brother stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked a rock but didn’t address my concerns. He started walking, forcing me to follow or be left behind. 

We stepped onto our floor and turned down the wing, still not really talking to one another, when I heard Owen hiss angrily. I glanced up to see Goku leaning against the wall outside my room, chatting with a girl from my chemistry class. He nodded to her and laughed but lost interest when he noticed my brother and I approaching. The girl dejectedly left us behind, peering over her shoulder a few times.

Goku smiled down at me, utterly ignoring Owen. I grumbled threats and turned to unlock my door while my brother hovered behind with a truly frightening expression on his face. I’d never seen him around Goku before but it looked like they weren’t very good friends. That was a little surprising—I found them to be kind of similar in a nauseating Oedipus complex way. 

“I’ll see you later, Owen,” I said dismissively.

My brother touched my arm. “Are you sure? I’ll hang around for a while if you want.”

If he wouldn’t tell me a damn thing, I had no interest in seeing him. I shook his hand away and entered my dorm, gesturing for Goku to follow for the single intent of agitating Owen. It did the trick: he stalked off with a stormy glare when Goku stepped inside my room with his hands in his pockets. I slammed the door shut and pushed the lock aggressively before stomping past Goku to throw my things on the bed.

He laughed, leaning against the door. “Y’know, you should work on your angry exits. The door didn’t even shut that loud. I would’ve broken it off the hinges to really add to the effect.”

“You’re only in here for revenge,” I said, “so try not to say anything dumb.”

“Why not? You’re awfully little and I have a lot of training in different fighting styles.”

“I’m scrappy.”

“Not scrappy enough to get away from me.”

I paused in putting away some of my clothes that had been lying around to stand up straight and level my eyes with Goku’s. The weird look was there again—what the hell was he trying to hide from me? Was he a serial killer or something? No, he had the brawn but definitely lacked the brains. I set my hands on my hips and squinted at his dark eyes, groping for any clue. What did Goku have to hide?

And Bulma… Bulma was almost as bad now. I’d been a bit worried about her but her actions in the library had been downright scary. They all had something going on with Owen but none of them were going to give it up. Then again… alcohol had a tendency to loosen tongues.

Goku blinked innocently. “Sorry, was that too far? I was only teasing you.”

I waved my hand impassively and returned to organizing. “No, it’s alright, I was just thinking about what you asked me earlier.” Stay cool, Ellie, stay cool. “You’re having a party at your apartment, right?”

“Are you volunteering to go? Gee, I thought I’d have to drag you there.”

My spine prickled. It sounded like a joke, but he was always saying things like that. There was aggression layered in his words and downplayed with a friendly smile. Did other girls notice it? Maybe I was just looking too deeply into what he said. It was a bad habit from my science-oriented brain.

“Uh, yeah,” I said, awkwardly trying to regain my confidence. “Are you guys going to be… you know… drinking and stuff like that?”

“Well everyone else probably will be, but I’m not a really heavy drinker. I’ll make sure you’re okay.” He grinned at me boyishly. “Are you a heavy drinker, Ellie? You definitely look like the type.”

“See, when I told you to not say anything dumb, that’s the kind of shit I was referring to.”

It was a little disappointing but also a huge relief. I’d learned what too much alcohol could do to people after watching Owen struggle with it during his teenage years. He’d been kind of adrift during high school, trying to find his niche, but I had always known mine. Mom and dad made sure of that.

Goku’s penetrating eyes drifted down my clothes. “No, you’re too tiny to drink a lot. You’d probably puke it all up on me. Eugh, that reminds of when I used to go out with Chi-Chi to these kinds of things. She can throw a hell of a punch but she can’t hold any booze in her stomach.”

“Thanks, I love hearing about your ex-girlfriend.” I flopped down on my bed with my arms outstretched and stared up at the ceiling, frowning. “Who says I’ll be with you the whole night? Maybe I’ll meet a nice guy and go hang out with him instead.”

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Rude. Get out so I can get ready.”

We reconvened in the hallway a few minutes later when I was in a much more appropriate leggings and sweater ensemble that didn’t make me look 40. Goku was dressed casually as well so I assumed it was a good outfit to wear around a bunch of drunk young people. He waited patiently for me to lock my door and we left the dorm together, attracting the attention of a few students along the way.

Bulma picked us up outside in a red convertible that looked incredibly expensive. Vegeta was sitting beside her in the front seat, glaring frigidly at all the people walking by, but he turned to nod his head to Goku. I settled beside my escort and smoothed my hair down, bracing it for the windy drive ahead.

When Bulma parked outside of a clean, well-kept white house, I thought we were stopping off to pick someone else up. But Goku took off his seatbelt and looked at me expectantly when I didn’t do the same with mine. I quickly freed myself from the restraint and hopped out of the car with the others, folding my arms over my chest to brace against the cold wind. It wasn’t what I had expected of Goku—not that I thought he lived in a trash heap or anything.

Night had scarcely begun to fall but the music was already booming from within. Vegeta and Bulma walked in together, the latter cheering all the way, and Goku came up to stand beside me while I admired the house. It had yellow shutters like some kind of place from the fifties. It wasn’t opulent. It felt pleasant and normal, like I was actually walking into a home instead of a frat party.

“Surprised?” Goku asked.

I shrugged. “Kind of. Do you guys live on the top or bottom floor?”

“Raditz lives on the bottom and I’m up top. Trust me, one floor is not enough room for the two of us.” He scratched the back of his head, pouting a bit. “But I bet everyone’s already made their way up to my half of the house. Hopefully they stayed out of my bedroom.”

The wind ruffled my hair and I shivered. It was gonna be a miserably cold winter.

“Where do you guys get the money for this?” I queried. “Do you work somewhere around West City? Or do you log up on Mt. Paozu? What does your brother do?”

“Odd jobs,” Goku said after a long silence. “C’mon, let’s go. I’m freezing!”

The inside of the house wasn’t densely crowded with people yet, but the music was still too loud to even hear my own thoughts. I looked around curiously at the décor of Raditz’s floor and wasn’t shocked to find it rather tacky: he had a thing for dead animals and tribal artifacts. Goku led me across the cool hardwood floor through a thick throng of people in the living room to the kitchen, which was fairly large. There were pots and pans stuffed haphazardly into cabinets. What a slob.

The island in the middle had an array of different alcohol and fizzy drinks to mix with said alcohol. Three coolers were situated on the linoleum floor in various spots and I watched two girls helping themselves to beer. Goku encountered another guy and started chatting avidly with him while getting himself a drink, leaving me to scan the kitchen further. It seemed pretty new. Maybe Raditz was in construction or something else that paid fairly well.

Goku handed me a red cup when I had just gotten to examining the wear and tear on the kitchen cabinets. He smirked at me when I awkwardly took it and peered over the edge into the swirling red mixture with restrained interest. Oh well, a few drinks wouldn’t hurt. Nothing would happen as long as I stuck by Goku and kept an eye on whatever I was imbibing. 

“What if I wanted beer instead of hard liquor?” I asked loudly, trying to be difficult.

He rolled his eyes and took off his hoodie, gesturing for me to do the same. Then he gathered them both on his arm and picked up his own red cup to escort me back through the living room and into the front room, where their apartments were separated by two doors. We entered the other door to see people on the stairway. Most of them slapped hands with Goku and the girls giggled when he walked by, but they all seemed shocked by my presence. I scurried after him.

This apartment opened up to a small foyer with the bathroom immediately to the right and the entrance to the kitchen on the left. Goku opened a small closet and hung our hoodies inside before turning back to smile at me, oblivious to the groups of people wandering around his apartment. 

I chewed on the edge of my cup. “So, what’s next on the agenda?”

“Nothin’. You hungry?”

We walked into his kitchen, which was much neater than his brother’s but a bit smaller. There was a spread of alcohol on his countertop but thankfully there was also a variety of bread and cheese out. I ate enough to curb my appetite, worried about puking it all up if I drank too much. Goku had a bit to eat as well and we walked through the kitchen to his living room.

It was also a vast improvement from the one downstairs. There was a big couch in the center of the room where a few people were sitting and a flat screen TV playing a football game. We sat down amongst the group and Goku introduced me to each of them: five guys and three girls, none of whom looked pissed off or jealous like the ones on the stairs. They were too busy watching the game to care.

They chatted for a while and I began to tentatively sip my drink, wincing at the bite of the alcohol. It wasn’t heavy but I would’ve preferred a more diluted beverage. I drank and smiled and nodded when the guys or girls addressed me with polite questions, and almost an hour passed before the party really became rowdy.

Soon the people we were sitting with became completely wasted and more people were coming into the living room to join the noise. I kept nursing my drink and didn’t even realize I was going beyond a buzz to genuinely feeling drunk, heralded by pleasant warmth and tingling in my head. Goku was laughing with the others and I noticed his face was flushed red from whatever he was drinking. He suddenly put an arm around me to pull me closer as the crowd thickened.

“Ah, damn,” he muttered, shaking the cup between his fingers, “I’m all out. Wanna get more?”

We pushed our way through the crowd to the now disorganized bottles of liquor and Goku poured me another mixed drink without much effort. But I watched in awe as he simply poured straight vodka into his cup and drank it without even flinching, immediately refilling. I quickly, and jerkily, put my hand on his to stop him. He was going to get alcohol poisoning at that rate.

“That’s a lot,” I said stupidly in response to his inquiring expression.

He stared at me through hooded eyes and drank the third drink like it was nothing. “C’mon, I think I’m drunk enough to dance now.”

“Dance?! I don’t wanna—”

Apparently, I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Goku grabbed my hand and led me out of his apartment down the stairs and into Raditz’s, where the burgeoning group of people was unbelievable. I clutched my drink in terror as he pulled me into the writhing crowd and we somehow began to dance. Soon I was done with my red cup and had thrown it to the floor, having reached the same level of inebriation as Goku that made dancing seem ludicrously easy.

Despite that, he wasn’t very grabby. I was coherent enough to recognize whether or not he was going too far but he was more interested in actually dancing with me and laughing when I nearly tripped over my own feet. The throng of people was thick and the air was heavy with the reek of alcohol but I’d never had as much fun as I did in that short span of time. Sweat started beading on my skin by the time I was finally ejected from the crowd, tipsy and in search of more alcohol.

My ears were ringing. It was really loud. I pressed my cheek against the wall to feel the soothing coolness and felt two arms wrap around me from behind to gently steer me to the door. 

We emerged into the less claustrophobic foyer and I caught my breath while Goku caught his—he was covered in sweat, too. He ran a hand through his hair and smirked down at me, eyes even more vacant than they had been upstairs. I wanted to drink but I really wanted to go to bed.

Then he groaned. “I hope Bulma ‘n Vegeta aren’t in my room. C’mon, let’s check.”

“You’re gonna make me barf,” I whined as he led me back into his apartment.

I’d made it halfway up the stairs with Goku, giggling and tripping over myself, when we heard the door to Raditz’s apartment slam open.

“WHERE IS HE?!” shrieked the dreaded voice. “WHERE IS GOKU?!”

Goku moved as fast as a drunk man could and scooped me up off the stairs to pull me into the foyer. He looked around wildly for an escape before throwing open the closet door and pushing me inside. I stumbled over the various jackets and the door shut with the ominous twist of a lock. There wasn’t exactly a lot of room and I wound up face-first against the back of the closet with him standing behind me, both of his hands bracing him beside my head.

The door handle jiggled and I squealed when Goku pressed himself against me, prompting him to cover my mouth with his hand. He panted into my neck, trembling violently as Chi-Chi began pounding on the door. Hell, I was pretty scared of her myself, but Goku was a big guy. What did she do to him?

“Is he in here?!” she demanded of various people. 

His breath was hot and smelled like vodka. I was getting warm all over again. I swallowed and focused intently on the wall before me. Relax, Ellie.

“Who was he with?!”

Goku leaned closer, as if his fear was starting to peak. His lips brushed my jaw.

“I have every damn right to know! He was supposed to take me out tonight, not get drunk with some harlot! Who the hell was she?!”

He wrapped his arms around my stomach and hugged me tightly, burying his face in my neck. I shivered when I felt him kiss my skin so gently that I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination.

“I’ll break this door down!”

Then his lips were moving across my flesh in a wet, chaotic pattern, no doubt tasting the salty tinge of sweat from our dancing. My knuckles whitened on the wall.

The door began to rattle again but Goku was otherwise engaged with kissing my neck. He pulled my hair out of the way and shoved me into the wall so my palms and cheek were completely flat, and there was nothing to do but struggle to think through my thick haze of drunkenness. Something hard pressed insistently against my tailbone and I blushed, shifting uncomfortably. 

“You really shouldn’t move,” he said in a husky whisper, nipping my ear.

Don’t move… 

…don’t move… 

…don’t… 

…fall asleep…


	9. How To Cure A Hangover

Consciousness dawned upon me in slow, torturous pulses.

The taste of alcohol was still thick on my tongue when I groaned into awareness. My stomach lurched preemptively and for a terrifying second I thought I was going to lose my lunch on the floor, or even worse, the bed. But I whimpered and curled into a ball, squeezing my eyes shut and allowing the nausea to burn through my insides like the poison I had drank the night before. The birds were singing to one another outside—I had managed to survive the night.

I buried my face in the blankets, still trying to avoid my inevitable trip to the bathroom, and gradually became aware of my surroundings. The bed was not my own. The cot in my room was creaky and a bit uncomfortable, while the mattress I was lying on was quite comfortable and worn-in. The sheets I had swaddled myself in were thick and plush rather than thin and they kept out all the cold.

Unwillingly, I risked a peek beneath the covers to find I was only wearing a strange orange shirt made of some lightweight that nearly kept me anchored to the bed. It hung around my knees from what I could tell and I slowly fit the pieces of the puzzle together that my delirious mind had picked up on. I was hungover in Goku’s bed, wearing his shirt, and he was nowhere to be seen. Nothing in that equation calculated to a good conclusion.

Soon I managed to prop myself up on an elbow to look around his bedroom. It was pretty big, with blue walls and white trimming along the beige carpet. There weren’t many decorations and it felt awfully empty: almost foreboding, like I was somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be. I rubbed my eyes and noted how clean he kept the space, another mannerism most guys didn’t have. There was a hell of a lot of things I didn’t know about Goku.

The door opened a hair and I quickly lay back down to pull the sheets around myself. My heart was hammering—I really didn’t want to see Goku after what had happened the night before. Were things going to be weird between us? Were things already weird between us?

“Yeah, I think she’s still asleep,” Goku said, talking quietly with someone on the phone. He paused and laughed in response to something they said. “Of course I didn’t. Chi-Chi showed up and… yeah, I know, but there was nothing I could do… nothing happened, anyway… I’ll make sure she stays away; tell Owen to stop screaming and relax… alright, call me later if anything changes. Bye.”

His phone clicked shut and I heard the tinker of ice against glass. My spine prickled when he approached and set something on the nightstand beside the bed. He stood there for a few seconds without moving, like he was thinking, and decided to crawl into bed beside me. My eyes popped open when I felt the gentle pressure of his hand on my hip and I ungracefully turned over to confront him.

Goku looked prepared for my angry reaction—he was nonchalantly watching me, supporting his cheek in his palm and barely flinched when I turned over. I opened my mouth to demand to know what had happened to my clothing but became too busy staring at the taut skin beneath his neck that outlined his collar bone. My eyes slowly crept down across his perfect, unmarred chest until I couldn’t see anything past the first or second curve of his abs. I pursed my lips.

And he smiled, very satisfied with himself. “Something wrong?”

It wasn’t every day I woke up in bed with a furious hangover beside a guy who had almost inhumanly perfect proportions. It frightened me—maybe because my thoughts were still so fuzzy or maybe because I couldn’t comprehend anything about Goku—and I promptly wriggled away from him to collapse on the floor, hiccupping when my stomach lurched.

Goku laughed and leaned over the bed to hoist me onto the mattress again. I lolled about like a ragdoll, crippled by my nausea, and could only groan nervously when he pulled my back flush against his abdomen. Though I was freed from ogling his body I could still feel it pressing against mine and hardly noticed the plate of bread and glass of ginger ale on the nightstand. 

I watched irately as one of his arms stretched past me to get a piece of the bread that had been cut into bite-size pieces. His elbow hooked on my hip bone to keep me in place and the bread touched my lips firmly. I considered biting Goku’s fingers for a brief second.

“I can feed myself,” I said, voice cracking.

“Go ahead and reach for it, then.”

Incensed, I strained against his arm for the plate of bread, and couldn’t help but notice it was heavier than an iron slab. He idly popped the piece of bread in his mouth I had turned down and the force on my hip grew when his arm tilted back, making it completely impossible to move. I angrily tried jabbing him in the ribs but my elbow glanced off his bicep instead.

I huffed and reached again, fingers waving madly in the air, and felt Goku lean his weight on my back to slowly slide his hand up my arm and curl his fingers over the top of mine. His face was in my neck again and I could feel his hot breath spill across my skin; it smelled like peppermint. He gently drew my arm back to my side and pressed it firmly into the mattress.

“I think you need my help,” he said in a disquieting tone.

If it were possible, I would’ve made like a black hole and swallowed myself up in that moment. I stared in terror at Goku’s large hand over mine, eclipsing my fingers and fully capable of shattering them. He was looming over me like a storm cloud, waiting to rain down whatever kind of punishment he wanted. There was an aggressive edge in his voice. He was heavy and hot.

It was one of the few times in my life I was utterly speechless. I’d never been more afraid. 

Goku’s hand tightened over mine until I whimpered in pain. I’d become a puddle at his feet he could leave to dry or stomp in like a cruel little kid. 

He detached his hand from mine with great effort and reached for the bread, pressing another piece to my lips a few seconds later. I ate it too quickly and Goku grasped my jaw with a sharp breath to hold it firmly in place. His lips moved against my skin when he spoke.

“Slow, Ellie,” he whispered. He pushed his index finger to my lips like he wanted it in my mouth. “If you’re not patient, you can lose everything.”

_What is that supposed to mean?_

The piercing ring of my cell phone mercifully shattered the tension between us. The change in Goku’s demeanor was instantaneous and frankly a bit worrying. He released me and rolled over to the nightstand on his side of the bed to grab my phone for me.

“It’s your brother,” he said. “Want to talk to him?”

Trembling, I shook my head. The last thing I needed was one of Owen’s hysterical fits.

Goku didn’t return to my side and sat up to stretch, yawning and popping several joints in the process. I warily began to eat the bread on my own and had a few sips of ginger ale as well to settle my stomach. My thoughts were racing a mile a minute: did all of that really happen? Was Goku going to…

“You puked last night,” he said offhandedly, getting out of bed. “One of the girls helped you get changed but I’m sure you don’t remember. Anyway, I left you in here so you could sleep it off. I’ll walk you back to the dorms whenever you’re ready, or you can stay here again tonight.”

I nibbled on my bread, mildly terrified. Was he not going to address what just happened or even try to put me at ease? He was still so casual. What the hell was he trying to pull?

“I’ll go home in a little while,” I stammered. “But I need pants.”

“I like you better without pants.”

_There it was_ —the latent aggression; the idle sexual comments that were frankly unnerving given the circumstances. I felt my face overheating and hid within the covers to eat a couple of more bread chunks until Goku left the room without saying a word. He was so friendly and fun the first few times we were together but that was undermined by whatever his strange behavioral quirk was.

Maybe I was overthinking it. Guys were guys, after all, and testosterone was what made them very different from us females. He was just being a guy. I wasn’t used to it yet.

I got ready to text Mila and Anna about what happened but hesitated. It probably wasn’t a good idea to make them worry and they didn’t know Goku yet. Besides, it was only one time and that was how guys were sometimes. I simply told them I went to a party and got out of bed to get ready to leave.

My knees shook and I wavered on my feet, about ready to collapse and sleep for a few more hours. I gripped one of the pegs at the end of the bed to steady myself and Goku reentered the room with a plastic bag in hand. He was wearing orange sweatpants that hung loosely from his hips and oh god he even had an Adonis belt. He casually scratched at the long line of muscles down his abdomen.

“I cleaned your clothes for you,” he said.

“Will you put a goddamn shirt on?!” I seethed, glaring intently at the floor. “If I have to see you half-naked again I’m going to lose my lunch.”

“Eh, I don’t really like wearing clothes. You look pale.”

“I’m fine. Gimme my stuff so I can go back to the dorms and take a shower.”

Goku cocked his head, swinging the bag from his index finger. “What’re you doing when you go back?”

I glanced up at him and wished I hadn’t. How the hell did he have so many muscles?! “I don’t know, probably drinking water all day and working on some stuff for chemistry.”

“Why won’t you look at me? Are you mad? I didn’t touch you after you passed out.”

“I’m only mad that you won’t put on a shirt.”

“I don’t think you’re mad about that,” he said with a snicker. “Your face is pink so I bet you’re more embarrassed by it than anything else.”

It was frustrating having nowhere to run. I kept my eyes averted from his and studied the carpet near my feet while he walked toward me, swinging the bag back and forth. 

I swallowed. Be brave, Ellie. “No, I’m just not used to being around shirtless men.”

“Oh, I’m a man now?”

“Unless I was feeling a pencil against my back last night—”

And Goku was standing in front of me, dangling my clothes from his fingertip. He tilted my head up with his free hand and I jerked away shyly. The bag dropped to the floor. He stepped closer and I stepped back until I felt the cool blue wall on my back. Shit, Ellie. What are you doing?

He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “A pencil, eh? That’s not very nice.” Then he pressed his pelvis against my stomach and his hands wandered to my hips.

My throat was so tight I thought I would never speak again. I squirmed frantically against him, terrified that we might do something I would regret, and his fingers dug into my skin. He panted into my ear and suddenly pulled me from the wall for the sole purpose of crushing me into it again. It kind of hurt.

“What did I say about moving?” he asked.

“I don’t—”

“Ellie?! Ellie, are you still here?!”

Bulma’s voice was the sweetest thing I’d ever heard. I had hardly reached up to push Goku away when I saw her lean, snowy fingers grasp his tan skin and pull him away herself. She was panting, only half dressed in a yellow skirt with a white tank top, and she seemed very relieved. Her back was turned to me so I couldn’t see the expression on her face when she shooed Goku away, who looked irritated.

“Run along,” Bulma said. “Why don’t you go train with the others for a while or check on your brother? Ellie went to her first party so she probably needs some girl time. It’s time for you to leave, Goku.”

Then he blinked like he was coming out of a daze and ran a hand through his hair. I watched him grab a shirt, heard his footsteps down the stairs, and Bulma and I were alone in the apartment. She heaved a sigh like she had been worried that he wouldn’t listen to her.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“…No. You know how guys can be.” She scooped up the bag and offered it to me, smiling tightly. “Get dressed and I’ll bring you back to the dorms.”


	10. How To Reunite

An entire month passed before I spoke to Goku again. I did my best to avoid him and even requested to be reassigned to a different student for tutoring, terrified of confronting him about what happened during the party. He would knock on my door for the first week or two and call my name softly to encourage me to come out and face him but I couldn’t do it. Even Bulma helped me hide from him, shoving me into lockers when he walked by or taking me to my classes in roundabout ways.

It was too _weird_ thinking of seeing him after the morning we had woken up together. Every time I thought about it my heart hammered in a really uncomfortable way and I felt so nervous I thought I’d puke. It was better for us to never speak of it again and cut off our friendship before things got too weird. Plus, Owen seemed much happier now that Goku was out of the picture.

Still, my brother was making me increasingly nervous. He spoke with Bulma quite a bit now in hushed tones and always seemed urgent about something while she was constantly reassuring him. She’d been pretty intent on getting Goku and I together but now she wanted us as far apart as possible. Both of them were freaking me out and I tried to drop in on their conversations unexpectedly but it never worked out. They were both on edge.

One night, toward the middle of October, Bulma came knocking on my door. I slid off my bed and lazily shuffled to the door to yank it open, wearing my grungy relaxation pjs with my hair up in a ponytail. I opened it expecting to see her smiling back at me but was instead greeted by Goku’s dark eyes.

I tightened my jaw and immediately tried to slam the door shut. How dare Bulma trick me with a friendly text! But Goku pressed his palm to the door and forced it back open, leaving me angrily crossing my arms as he invited himself in. He was wearing his gym shorts and a black wife-beater and smelled like cologne. Probably on his way back from the gym as usual.

“What?” I asked, standing firm beside my bed. “I thought I made it pretty clear that I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

“C’mon, Ellie. I told you I was sorry.” He rubbed the back of his head, eyeing my pajamas. “I was still kinda groggy from just waking up and… well, you know how it is when you have a girl in your bed.”

“No I don’t!” I spluttered.

Goku stood by the door, leaning on it casually. “Yeah, I guess you don’t. You’d understand if you were like me. Anyway, I came here to apologize again and ask you to tutor me. The guy they gave me is kind of mean and he doesn’t explain things the way you do. Please help me out?”

What was I supposed to do? He’d scared the shit out of me. I thought I was overreacting but even Bulma seemed shaken by how Goku was behaving. But he’d been nice to me otherwise, and he hadn’t actually hurt me or tried anything. Even when we were dancing he kept a respectful space between us. A whole month had passed, too… maybe it was time for me to let sleeping dogs lie and move on.

_Or maybe I just have a crush on him._

Flustered, I nodded quickly and turned back to my bed to fix the sheets. “Whatever, fine.”

“Can we do some math now?” he asked, brightening immediately. “It’s only seven or so and my dorm is right upstairs. Want to come up? I’m on… radicals, I think.”

“Radicals? Already?”

“Yeah, I’ve been practicing a lot.”

“But you hate math,” I said stupidly.

Radicals frustrated a lot of people. For a guy who barely understood what a variable was, Goku was progressing very quickly with the tutor who was supposedly bad. 

Goku smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, but you don’t. C’mon, let’s go.”

Then we left and I was staring at him with a dumbstruck expression. Of course I didn’t hate math. It was intrinsic to chemistry, which was in turn intrinsic to pharmacy studies. Why would he—

And I began to blink like a crazy person, heart pounding. Was Goku trying to impress me? The thought of it was insane. He was tall, attractive, and charming while I was sort of… plain. I was pretty intelligent and everything and not half bad looking but I didn’t think I would ever be the sort of female that attracted guys like Goku. He was the jocky type. Chi-Chi was better suited for him than I was.

But Chi-Chi frightened him for some reason. I could still remember how he trembled behind me while she screamed and pounded on the door, demanding he come out of hiding. Poor guy. She was probably half his size but ten times as intimidating. Hell, I hadn’t even seen her in calculus since that night.

We stopped in front of Goku’s door and people began to stare, pulling me from my ruminations. Once inside I looked around his slightly larger room to see his décor was just as plain as it was at his apartment, if not more so. There was a black bedspread and a desk lamp. It felt like a prison cell.

Goku changed into orange sweatpants and a blue t-shirt while my back was turned. They were my favorite colors, but I didn’t think I’d ever tell him that. He locked the door and I hopped up on his bed with a pencil to see what I could help him with. He climbed up beside me and soon we were poring over his textbook with scarcely an inch between us. 

“Don’t worry too much about the number outside the radical,” I said as I circled a 64 inside the sign. “This is what you’re worried about, and 64 happens to be a perfect square.”

“And I can make the 8 smaller, too?”

“Yup, because four is yet another perfect square. See? This isn’t very hard. You just have to take your time and make sure everything is laid out neatly.”

Goku leaned closer. One of his hands was behind me to keep him balanced at my side. I tried to ignore him and keep explaining the problem but he was really close and whatever scent he was wearing smelled good enough to eat. Soon the pencil was trembling in my grasp and I started pointing with my index finger instead to hide my nervousness. Was I afraid?

He rested his chin on my shoulder. “Why’d you start shaking all of a sudden?”

“Low blood sugar, maybe.” _Or you breathing down my neck._

“I hope you’re not afraid of me, Ellie. I really didn’t mean to scare you.”

Well, shit. I picked my words carefully, trying to decide if I would forgive him or not. It wasn’t a big deal. We’d both recently woken up from drinking and he was a guy, so things happened.

“It’s alright,” I said. “I’m over it now.”

Warm fingers touched the small of my back, light as a feather. I stared at the paper in front of me.

“Did you like it?” he murmured.

I paled. Did I like it on some primal level? My fear of returning to it had kept me from seeing Goku but the more I thought about it… maybe I had enjoyed it. It could’ve been my guilt or shame for enjoying it that was making me so scared to relive the situation again.

Swallowing, I shook my head. “No, I didn’t.”

Goku nuzzled his face into my neck and slid his hand over mine. He smiled into my skin. “Awww, it’s okay to like it. I won’t ever hurt you or anything like that, but I really like it when you try to get away from me.”

Once again, Goku had rendered me speechless. My eyes widened, burning as they latched on to the scribbled math problems before me that had both Goku’s messy handwriting and my own. He liked when I tried to get away from him? Was that the only reason I had woken up unscathed? I’d gone to bed willingly with him, although very drunk, but he was only interested if I was trying to get away.

“Are you…” I paused and closed my eyes, terrified to say it. “…Are you saying you’re going to…?”

He laughed. “’Course not. I only will if I get permission first.”

Oh, thank goodness. I’d been worried for a second that—

“But sometimes I get really impatient and _then_ I just kind of hope you’ll learn to like it.”

“…Oh,” I faltered.

“Mmm… you smell good.” 

The binder was suddenly shoved out of my lap and onto the floor, falling with a loud clatter and making me jump. The papers scattered as well and Goku took my pencil away to throw it on the floor as well, now leaning the full brunt of his weight against me. I nearly collapsed to my side, startled by his sudden aggression. What the hell was wrong with him?! I never would’ve pegged Goku as that type of guy but he’d made me seriously doubt his friendly demeanor.

Then Goku’s cell phone vibrated and he stopped dead in the midst of pushing me over. He irately pulled it out of his pocket and clicked past the lock screen to read a text that I could plainly see. It was from Bulma, which didn’t particularly surprise me, but the short message in caps lock did.

_TAKE YOUR MEDICINE, GOKU SON._

He hesitated, reading it a few times before stuffing his phone back in his pocket. I wondered what kind of medicine Bulma was pestering him about taking. It could’ve been for joint pain, since he was an athlete and trained in martial arts. Or maybe he had some kind of heart condition that needed to be treated, lest he drop dead in the middle of some game.

“S-so you only invited me here to do this?” I stammered when Goku’s heady dark eyes turned back to me.

“Do what?” he asked innocently.

“You know what I mean! Cut it out, you’re not being funny!”

“Oh, I’m not gonna have sex with you.” He brightened, but it was somehow sinister. “I’m gonna kiss you and you can decide what you wanna do!”

Goku grasped the back of my head and pushed me forward so our lips connected in a savage kiss that made me squeal in shock. He was still hovering over me, trying to push me down on the bed, but I wouldn’t relent. His lips moved in a frenzied way and then his tongue was in my mouth and I was eagerly kissing him back, praying to god that I wasn’t as bad as I felt. He knew what he was doing—my arms began to tremble after only a few minutes and I really wasn’t opposed to his sex proposition.

My elbows buckled and Goku was on top of me in the next instant, pinning my wrists even though I was entirely willing. He was between my legs and I could feel him; I wanted to let him do whatever he wanted. His mouth left mine and traveled along my jawline to my neck, where he started kissing and biting at my skin, undoubtedly leaving marks. I strained against his hands to free my own clawing fingers but he held me firmly to the bed with no signs of relenting.

Inevitably, someone knocked on his door. Hard.

“Goku?!” Bulma called shrilly. “Open the door NOW!”

Goku paused and rolled his eyes before idly clapping a hand over my mouth. I glared up at him. His chest was rising and falling in sharp, uneven breaths. Had I done that to him? Huh.

“What’s up, Bulma?” he drawled.

“I have your medicine. Get out here and take it. If you keep skipping, you know what happens.”

He sighed dramatically and leaned back to kneel between my legs, pressing his index finger forcefully to my lips before doing so as a sign I should stay quiet. I seethed when I saw his hands casually hook on the hem of my pajamas like he was going to pull them down. What the hell?! I… I wasn’t ready for that!

“I don’t wanna take it,” he said. “It dumbs me down too much.”

“Goku Son, you get out here right now and take your pill.”

“No I told you I don’t want to.”

“This is not a good way to impress her,” Bulma hissed. “You know what’s going to happen if you don’t start the regimen again. We can’t afford to lose her and I know you especially don’t want to, so be a good boy and come take your goddamn medicine!”

That seemed to irritate Goku. He scowled at the door and unwillingly got out of bed to answer Bulma’s demands. I lay perfectly still, gazing up at the ceiling. What kind of medicine was Goku taking? Who did he want to impress? It couldn’t have been me. If it was, why couldn’t they afford to lose me? _Why in the hell wouldn’t anyone tell me what the fuck was going on in West University?_

Bulma’s bangles clinked on her wrist. “I hate when you’re like this. We kind of dodged a bullet at that party and now you’re pulling shit like this under my nose. You know why you have to be on this strict regimen, Goku. Take your pill, play your silly sports, and fuck a few girls.” She paused and I heard her nails undulate on the doorframe. “And keep Ellie out of that last category for now.”

“Mhm,” Goku said offhandedly.

Now I was beginning to panic. He was deliberately letting me listen to Bulma ranting on and on about whatever weird plans they all had for me and they didn’t sound good. She sounded so different—meaner, like she was really a business tycoon. And Goku was attracted to _me_?! I couldn’t believe it. Maybe I was hearing them wrong. It was a bad case of information overload.

“Good boy,” Bulma said after a minute. “I’ll be down at the end of the week to give you the next pill. These ones are going to really help you relax.”

“Great. See you tomorrow.”

“Oh, that reminds me: Chi-Chi will be back next week. She enjoyed her, uh… vacation.”

The door shut softly and Goku returned, promptly spitting a red pill into his palm and grinding it to dust between his fingers. He sprinkled it in his sink and flushed it down before turning to face me, now a bit calmer than before. His expression was painful to look at: sad and kind of trapped.

“I’m risking a heck of a lot for you, Ellie,” he said.


	11. How To Get A Boyfriend

“What the hell was that?” I asked after a long silence.

Goku was still standing beside the bed with his hands on his hips, watching me intently for any signs of life. I’d fallen quiet after he rinsed the remains of his pill down the sink, grappling with my confusion and a vague sense of fear. What had I stumbled into? Bulma sounded completely different when she was talking to Goku outside. Even he seemed different—he had since the party. 

He glanced over his shoulder at the small sink. “Nothing important.”

“Then why would you tell me you’re risking a lot for me?” I snapped, still flustered from our kiss. “Quit being so cryptic. If you don’t tell me what it is, I’m never speaking to you again.”

“I can’t tell you, but you’re smart. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

The dorms were still fairly busy and I could hear people milling around outside. Irritated, I slid off Goku’s bed and headed for his door. I didn’t have time for games. Everything Bulma had said wasn’t making sense and sitting around with Goku was making it even worse. I needed to go back to my own room to figure out what was going on and put the pieces together. Clearly, I couldn’t rely on anyone else.

Goku stepped in my path in one smooth motion. I tried to sidestep him a few times but there wasn’t much room and he was a lot faster than me. People in the hallway laughed and chattered while I glared down the 6’1” mystery standing before me with his arms folded. It made him look like Vegeta.

“Excuse me,” I said sarcastically, “but I have to go.”

“Come on, Ellie. Think about it. I can’t tell you, but you can figure it out.”

“I have absolutely no clue what any of you are doing or what you’re trying to hide from me and I’m too tired to try to figure out what the hell kind of pills Bulma’s feeding you. Move. Now.”

“She wanted you because you’re so smart,” Goku said. “Please figure it out.”

It had been a trying day. I shoved past Goku and left his room, attracting the attention of some of the people lurking outside, and hurried back to my own room with a very apparent blush. I’d heard her wrong. Bulma wasn’t talking about me when she was referring to whatever girl Goku wanted to impress. I was probably caught in the crossfire and he was trying to get me out of the way.

So I went back to my own dorm and took a shower before going to sleep. I had a calculus test in the morning and from the way Bulma talked, Chi-Chi was coming back from her… vacation. I didn’t want to think of what she meant with that creepily uttered word and quickly dropped off to sleep.

Yamcha and Tien were both bright-eyed and bushytailed in calculus. The latter was almost as good with math as I was and he reviewed a few problems with me briefly before the test started. Yamcha idly gnawed on a bagel until the classroom door opened two minutes before the test began and a familiar face bustled inside. I glanced up from my problems and froze.

Chi-Chi was dressed prim and proper as always but something seemed wrong. Her eyes were exhausted; she looked almost inhuman. She talked to the professor briefly and he nodded before offering her an exam, then she scurried to her seat beside mine. I awkwardly turned my eyes back to my problems while both Yamcha and Tien watched her sit down in her old seat. She’d been gone for nearly a month. What kind of “vacation” had Bulma sent her on?

Yamcha blinked at her. “Where have you been, Chi?”

She rummaged through her bag and shrugged. “Sick and stuff. Do you have an extra pen?”

“I do,” I volunteered reflexively.

Her dark eyes met mine. She smiled tightly.

“Thanks, Ellie.”

It was painful sitting beside her during the exam. I was dying to know where she had really been and both Yamcha and Tien didn’t ask questions after the test was through. We all handed in our final work and split up outside the classroom to go to our next professor. 

I chewed on my second pen while I walked—I’d been too afraid to ask Chi-Chi for her borrowed one back. Could I put everything together? I had a decent idea of what was going on but I didn’t want to overstep boundaries or accuse anyone who was actually in the right. The day I met the Saiyans, I knew something was off about them, and the closer I got to Goku the more convinced I was that they and Bulma were the epicenter of it all.

Owen was in the flux as well. My brother had always struck me as the type to get involved in big trouble and I was worried about him, but he seemed to be too important to go anywhere soon. I took my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through my texts, considering asking him how he was doing…

And I promptly bumped into someone.

“Oops!” laughed a male voice as he steadied me. “Sorry about that!”

I still staggered on my feet, cursed with imbalance. “It’s ok, I wasn’t paying attention. Thanks.”

My rescuer and victim was a hair taller than me with light blue eyes and blonde hair. He had a very open and friendly face that made it hard for me to look away. I stood there staring at him and he stared back at me, still gently holding my arms in an afterimage of his close encounter with my head. He was wearing khakis and a dress shirt; much fancier attire than most college guys.

“I’m Peter,” he said. “I’m a sophomore here. What’s your name?”

“Amelia. Or Ellie; that’s what most people call me. I’m a freshman.”

Peter smiled. “Nice to meet you, Amelia. Where are you headed in such a hurry?”

Then I felt a warm presence behind me and I watched Peter’s facial expression shift in an instant. He reluctantly released my arms, eyeing the newcomer with a guarded look. I hung my head in shame. If Goku was always showing up at the wrong moment, I’d never meet a nice guy.

Two hands clapped down on my shoulders. “Who’s this, Ellie? He looks tiny.”

I covered my face. “Goku, Peter. Peter, Goku.”

“You seem busy,” Peter offered, immediately removing himself from the tension. “I’ll see you around sometime, Ellie. Have a good one, Goku.”

When the friendly person was gone I whirled around to smack Goku hard in the arm, and he pouted and massaged his wound. He was wearing his gym clothes and had a sheen of sweat that admittedly made him look more intimidating than usual. It was hard to believe the friendly guy I had met in the library could have such a strange and frankly frightening personality at times. Was that what the pill fixed?

I started to walk away to get to my next class on time and Goku suddenly pushed me up against the wall in full view of people walking by. A couple of them openly stared at me as I furiously protested, trying to keep my voice down to a whisper to keep them from thinking he was attacking me. Christ, he was heavy.

Goku kissed me ferociously and I heard giggles that made me even more mortified. He pressed his body flush against mine and seemed just about ready to start taking his clothes off when I instinctively bit his lower lip, hard. He jerked back, freeing me from my prison and attracting more attention.

I wiped spit from my mouth, trembling with rage, and stalked off toward my next class. Goku touched his bleeding lip, bewildered, and was soon after me so I was reduced to running down the hall like a crazy woman. He clasped a hand over my mouth and turned like a true athlete to pull me into a nearby broom closet, shutting and locking the door like he had done it a thousand times before.

This time I snapped my teeth over his finger and he released with an aggrieved hiss, but wrestled with me when I tried reaching for the door. I found myself in a familiar position with my cheek crushed against the cold wall and Goku standing behind me trying to catch his breath.

“What is wrong with you?!” I hissed, heart pattering madly. “You can’t kiss me like that!”

“I’m just making sure people know you’re mine.” He laughed a little. “Even if you’re a biter.”

_WHAT?!_

“I’m… I’m not _yours_! Since when are we dating?!”

“Since last night. Hey, are you going to bite me like that in bed? That’s okay, I don’t mind bleeding very much, but please don’t bite my mouth. That really hurt.”

My eyes bugged enough to fall flat out of my skull and I became very keenly aware of Goku’s position relative to mine. I wriggled desperately in his grasp while he held me still with very little effort like he was waiting for a crazed animal to wear itself out. I never said I wanted to go out with him! We hadn’t even gone on a damn date, and I had known him for a month!

This was not the friendly, easygoing Goku I had met in early September. Slowly but surely, I had watched a different Goku emerge until someone completely new and much more frightening was giving me kisses hard enough to bruise my lips and dragging me into broom closets to set our boundaries for sex. God, what was he even doing talking about that kind of thing already?

“Tell me what the pill is about,” I said, trying to get a grip on myself. “And for the love of god, let me go. If you act like an adult I won’t go anywhere, but if you keep grabbing at me like a drunken frat boy I’m going to scream until half the school knocks down the closet door.”

Goku hesitated, but obliged and released me from the wall. The second I turned to face him he slammed his palms on either side of my head to use his arms as a cage. It was irritating but still allowed me greater movement and let me see the look on his face instead of having to guess. He was currently agitated and didn’t look like he felt like talking. It was hard to tell in the dark.

I crossed my arms. I was shaking. “So? Tell me what the pill does.”

There were voices and laughter outside. It should have been me out there mingling with the others, but I was stuck in a closet with a very moody, very strong man who I was very attracted to. He cocked his head and his dark eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“You won’t tell?” he asked.

“Who do I have to tell?”

Goku leaned back to run a hand through his hair and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Fine. I’ll let you know about that, but nothing else. Bulma always finds out.”

“Spit it out already!”

He braced himself against the door. His eyes were closed. “Okay, just the bare minimum.”

I wrapped my arms around my middle and waited impatiently for him to start talking. Things were reaching a breaking point. Goku was attracted to me for some reason or another and we were apparently dating, which was welcome if not frightening news to me. Chi-Chi had mysteriously vanished and was now calm and complacent. Bulma had tried her best to keep Goku and I apart for the month I refused to see him, and wanted that to continue.

They couldn’t afford to lose me. Why? I didn’t know what kind of role I had to play in their machinations. I’d only recently started college and had a long ways to go before I gained any real world knowledge. And Goku—the way Bulma talked about him, it was like she was barely keeping him under control.

Goku’s jaw tightened. “I’m… kind of related to the Saiyan group Bulma hangs around. We aren’t blood relatives, except for my brother, but… well, we’re kind of our own race. It’s kind of a common theme in Saiyans to be aggressive, like you saw when you bumped into Raditz. They can all control themselves with the training and girls and stuff but I have a really hard time with it.

“Bulma’s smart and good with science stuff so she made something that helps me calm down. It works well if I take it every week but if I miss one I go all sorts of crazy. I’ve been taking it for a long time now and I noticed it dumbs me down, too, which isn’t what I wanted. Bulma’s told me a hundred times there’s no way to change that but I’m pretty sure she’s lying, and it irritates me.”

What did that make the Saiyans, then? They could’ve been a very small subset of a population, like a tribe of some kind, and they definitely had different customs and appearances than other tribes. That explained why everyone in the group was male and had a serious attitude problem excluding Goku. He was the only one who had to pop a pill to keep himself in check.

My heart beat faster. But how bad could his severely downplayed aggression problem be if he had to take a pill that destroyed his personality? I could remember the day I met Goku like it had been the night prior and his happy demeanor suddenly felt more intimidating than his current one. It wasn’t even real. That Goku was the product of some kind of medicine Bulma cooked up to keep him placid.

But why did she need him placid? I doubted it was out of the goodness of her heart, even though she’d been friends with Goku for a very long time. He had to serve another purpose—they all did. That was the one thing I knew Goku would never tell me and expected I would learn it on my own.

“Don’t take it,” I said. “You shouldn’t have to sacrifice who you are for her. There must be some other way you can get help. I know there’s a mental health clinic down the block.”

“I really appreciate you trying to be nice, but you don’t want to see what I’m like when I skip for too long. Talking about it isn’t gonna help.” Goku put a hand over his chest, tightening his grip to pull on his shirt. “It’s the way I was born and I don’t like it very much. I get caught between the two extremes.”

“Come on, you can’t be that bad. Let me help you.”

Goku pulled his still slightly bloody lower lip into his mouth. “I’m worse than this, and it’s not just you that I’m worried about. I get kind of mean to everyone and my other friends are gonna notice. You’ll feel the brunt of it and… it’s really not a good idea. I thought it was, but it isn’t.”

It had been a bit scary seeing Goku acting so aggressively at first but I was fully confident that I could handle him. No one could be so forgone that they couldn’t control themselves. He was nice and had proven he could still respect my boundaries even when I was blackout drunk. He even washed my clothes for me when I gracefully vomited on myself.

I really did want to help. He was trapped and I loved fixing things.

“You have to wait another week until she gives you the next pill, anyway,” I said. “We’ll play it by ear and see how it works.”

“It’s hard to hide it from Bulma.”

What a goddamn Debbie Downer. I put my hands on my hips and leveled my gaze with Goku’s. He was reticent, an odd change of pace from his behavior in the hallway.

“We’ll figure it out,” I assured him. “Let’s go. You made me late for class!”


End file.
